Centre's warning to Assam, West Bengal as COVID-19 cases rise
The central government has issued a warning to the governments of Assam and West Bengal keeping in view rising COVID-19 cases and weekly positivity rates and decreasing testing numbers there. Arti Ahuja, the Additional Secretary in the Union Health Ministry, wrote a letter to the Chief Secretaries of the two states on October 26 in this regard. Here are more details on this.
Why does it matter?
The Centre's warning has come just ahead of the festive season. Experts have repeatedly advised caution during the festive season citing the risk of a surge in COVID-19 cases. People have been advised to avoid mass gatherings and unnecessary travel. In fact, the decline in the weekly number of infections at the national level has slowed in recent days, government data shows.
Assam: 41% rise in weekly new cases
There has been a 41% increase in weekly new cases since the past week in Assam, Ahuja pointed out in her letter. The weekly positivity rate has also risen over the last four weeks from 1.89% to 2.22%. "The state has also witnessed decline in tests conducted from 1,64,071 in the week of September 28-October 4 to 1,27,048 in the week of October 19-25."
West Bengal sees increase in positivity rate
Meanwhile, West Bengal recorded 6,040 cases in the week of October 20-26 compared to 4,277 cases in the October 13-19 week, marking around a 40% increase. There was also a rise in the weekly positivity rate from 1.93% to 2.39%. The state also witnessed a slight decrease in its weekly testing figures following the Durga Puja celebrations earlier this month.
What are the Centre's suggestions?
The Centre has advised proper implementation of containment zones and improving contact tracing of COVID-19 positive people in Assam and West Bengal. It also asked the states to aim for 100% first dose vaccination of their adult population and to increase the pace of administering the second doses. There should also be strict surveillance to avoid potential super spreader events, according to the letter.
Centre advises scaling up testing
"Because of the rising positivity, the state needs to conduct enhanced testing while maintaining the required RT-PCR share as it will aid in early identification of infection in the state," the Centre said in the letter addressed to Assam.
