New Delhi: Being aware of the fact that several districts in six States have been witnessing a spike in Covid19 cases, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Friday dashed letters to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu asking them to follow a risk assessment based approach to prevent and contain the infection.
In his letter sent to the States, Bhushan said that India has observed a significant decline in the number of Covid19 cases during past few months. "However, since past few weeks a rise in cases has been noted specifically in certain parts of the country with a total of 2,082 cases reported in the week ending March 8, 2023 which rose to 3,264 cases week ending March 15, 2023," Bhusan said in his letter, a copy of which are in possession of ETV Bharat.
There are a few States which are reporting a higher number of cases indicting possible localized spread of infection and there is a need to follow a risk assessment-based approach to prevent and contain the infection, without losing the gains made so far in the fight against the pandemic, Bhushan said.
"It is advised that State should examine the situation of Covid 19 at micro level (district and sub-district) and maintain focus on the implementation of necessary measures for prompt and effective management of Covid19 duly ensuring effective compliance with various advisories issued by this ministry," Bhushan said.
Suggesting following a five-fold strategy of test-track-treat-vaccination, Bhushan asked States to focus on adequate and proactive testing as per guidelines, adhering to Covid appropriate behavior, monitoring new emerging clusters, genomic sequencing of prescribed samples of international passengers among other things.
Maharashtra has reported an increase in weekly cases from 355 in the week ending March 8, 2023 to 668 in the week ending March 15, 2023. Further, Maharashtra reported a positive rate of 1.92 percent in the week ending March 15 which is higher than India's positivity rate of 0.61 percent during the same period.
Seven districts including Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Mumbai Suburban, Nashik, Ahmednagar, and Nagpur have reported an increase in the total number of cases in the week ending March 15, 2023. In addition, India SARS-2 Genomic Sequencing Consortium (INSACOG) labs have reported 40 genome sequences XBB.1.16 version of Covid19 virus from January 1 to March 14.
As for Gujarat, the State has reported an increase in weekly cases from 105 in the week ending March 8, 2023 to 279 in the week ending March 15, 2023. The state has reported a positive rate of 1.11 percent in the week ending March 15 2023 which is higher than India's positivity rate of 0.61 percent during the same period. Seven districts including Ahmadabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Mahesana, Bhavnagar, and Amreli have reported an increase in the total number of cases in the week ending March 15 as compared to the week ending March 8, 2023.
Telangana has reported an increase in weekly cases from 132 in the week ending Mach 8 to 267 in the week ending March 15. The State has also reported a positivity rate of 0.31 percent in the week ending March 15, 2023. In Telangana z most of the cases are being reported from the Hyderabad district.
Tamil Nadu has reported an increase in weekly cases from 170 in the week ending Mach 8 to 258 in the week ending March 15. The State has also reported a positivity rate of 1.99 percent in the week ending March 15, 2023. In Tamil Nadu, four districts including Salem, The Nilgiris, Tiruppur, and Tiruchirapalli have reported an increase in the total number of cases in the week ending March 15, 2023, as compared to the week ending March 8, 2023.
As for Kerala the State has reported an increase in weekly cases from 434 in the week ending Mach 8 to 579 in the week ending March 15. The State has also reported a positivity rate of 2.64 percent in the week ending March 15, 2023. In Kerala, five districts including Ernakulam, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Thrissur, and Palakkad have reported an increase in the total number of cases in the week ending March 15, 2023 as compared to the week ending March 8, 2023.
In Karnataka there has been an increase in weekly cases from 493 in the week ending Mach 8 to 604 in the week ending March 15. The State has also reported a positivity rate of 2.77 percent in the week ending March 15, 2023. In Karnataka, four districts including Shivamogga, Kalaburagi, Mysuru, and Uttara Kannada have reported an increase in the total number of cases in the week ending March 15, 2023 as compared to the week ending March 8, 2023.
