NEW DELHI: Amid rising cases of Covid, the Centre has asked eight states including Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra to maintain a strict watch and take preemptive action in any area of concern to control any emerging spread of infection.
Underlining that Covid is still not over, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in a letter on April 21 to Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Haryana and Delhi urged them to remain cautious against laxity at any level saying that may nullify the gains made in pandemic management so far.
The country has been witnessing a consistent rise in COVID-19 cases since March, with 10,262 cases reported in the week ending April 20. A rise in positivity rate has also been noted across the country, with 5.5 per cent positivity reported in the week ending April 19 against 4.7 per cent positivity reported in the previous week, Bhushan said. “This is a cause of concern,” he stated.
While the rates of hospitalisation and deaths due to COVID-19 have remained low, states or districts reporting higher number of cases may indicate a possible localised spread of infection thus necessitating a closer look at these states or districts (high daily cases and/or high-test positivity rates) and the need to institute requisite public health measures to control and contain such surges in the initial stages, he said.
