New Delhi: Amid the growing surge in the Covid-19 cases in India, the country logged 5,880 new coronavirus cases and 14 deaths in the past 24 hours as per the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The active cases-count in the country currently stands at the 35,199 mark.
While four deaths each were reported from Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, one each was reported from Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and two reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 6.91 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was pegged at 3.67 per cent. The Covid case tally so far was recorded at 4.47 crore (4,47,62,496).
Reacting to the surge, the Indian Medical Association stated that the reasons behind the recent Covid surge in the country may be the relaxation of Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, low testing rate and the emergence of a new variant of Covid-19.
“Many people lowered their guard against coronavirus. People with symptoms refused to get tested. This may have allowed the virus to spread undetected and infect more people. The vaccination drive has developed a false sense of security, and so we lowered the guard against the infection. The virus that causes Covid, keeps mutating and leading to the birth of new strains such as XBB.1.16. This new variant is believed to be more transmissible as compared to the previous variants, luckily not so lethal,” said IMA national president Sharad Kumar Agarwal.
Meanwhile, as per the instructions by the centre, state health ministers and senior officials from Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Jammu, and Tamil Nadu among others were found inspecting hospitals, taking stock of availability of oxygen cylinders, hospital beds etc. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya visited the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in the national capital to review the mock drill there.
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Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian also inspected a mock drill for emergency response for handling Covid-19 at Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital in Chennai. Speaking to the media, the health minister said, "We have 350 or fewer Covid-19 infection cases in Tamil Nadu and no need to fear in our state as of now. We predict that 4th wave will be a mild effect compared to the third wave."
Meanwhile, in Haryana's Jhajjar, a Covid-19 preparedness drill is being conducted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). In Madhya Pradesh, a team of the district health department officials visited several hospitals, including the government-run Prakashchandra Sethi Hospital in Indore.
Speaking to the media, Indore Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Bhure Singh Setia said, "COVID-19 is increasing at a rate of 6 to 7 per cent in Indore. Currently, there are 42 active cases in the city and all are being treated at their homes. The patients are between the age group of 22 and 60 years old." Madhya Pradesh Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang also reached there to inspect the facilities.
With Maharashtra recording 778 cases in the past 24 hours, the mock drills were conducted at the prime hospitals in the city, including JJ Hospital, St. George Hospital, Cama And Albless Hospital, and GT Hospital among others. Speaking to the media, Founder of JJ Hopsital, Dr Pallavi Saple said, "The mock drill has come as a refresher for everyone about how to carry out the basic testing of a positive patient. The last mock drill was conducted three years ago in 2020. The doctors here have changed since -- resident doctors pass out after three years, new doctors come in. Some of them have not worked during the Covid peak period. So this mock drill will just polish their hold on Covid treatment," Dr Saple said.
Also read: Three states reintroduce Covid curbs as cases rise in India
“Suggestions revolved around quality clinical practices, measures for infection control, hospital management, sanitation processes and patient-centric provisions,” a health ministry official said after most mock drills in the national capital were successfully concluded.
In a review meeting held on April 7, Mandaviya had urged state health ministers to visit hospitals and oversee the mock drills on April 10 and 11. In the meeting with state health ministers, and principal and additional chief secretaries held virtually, Mandaviya had stressed the need to identify emergency hotspots by monitoring trends of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) cases, ramping up testing and vaccination, and ensuring readiness of hospital infrastructure.
Besides enhancing genome sequencing and ramping up whole genome sequencing of positive samples, he had laid stress on creating awareness about following Covid-appropriate behaviour. During the meeting, states and union territories were informed that currently the World Health Organisation (WHO) is closely tracking a variant of interest (VOI), XBB.1.5, and six other variants (BQ.1, BA.2.75, CH.1.1, XBB, XBF and XBB.1.16).
It was highlighted that while Omicron and its sub-lineages continue to be the predominant variants, most of the assigned variants have little or no significant transmissibility, disease severity or immune escape. The meeting also concluded that 23 states and union territories have testing rates that are lower than the current national average of 100 tests per million people.
Mandaviya had said that irrespective of the new variants, the five-fold strategy of "Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate and adherence to Covid-Appropriate Behaviour" continues to remain the tested strategy for Covid management. States and union territories were also requested to expeditiously increase the rate of testing and increase the share of RT-PCR in tests.
