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There has been a recent surge in COVID cases in India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting on Wednesday, March 22, to review public health preparedness in light of the Covid surge. The meeting was attended by top health ministry officials.
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At the review meeting on Wednesday, PM Modi urged authorities to focus on genome sequencing to detect new strains. He also mentioned the need to monitor influenza-like symptoms and urged people to follow respiratory hygiene.
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On March 19, the health ministry issued revised guidelines for Covid-19 in light of the surge. They focused on the need to maintain physical distancing, use masks, and seek immediate medical attention if serious symptoms persist for more than five days.
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The Health Ministry wrote to six states (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka) that were reporting a Covid surge. The states were advised to follow a risk assessment-based approach to prevent and contain the infection.
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The Health Ministry also sent letters to the governments of Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka encouraging them to follow the five-fold strategy of test, track, treat, vaccinations and adherence to Covid-19 appropriate behaviour.
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According to the Health Ministry data on Wednesday, India recorded 1,134 fresh infections, with active cases rising to 7,026. The Covid-related death toll has gone up to 5,30,813 with five new reported fatalities.
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One death each has been recorded in the states of Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Kerala. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.09%, while the weekly positivity rate stood at 0.98%.
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