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In the last 24 hours, India recorded 42 fatalities and 12,193 fresh COVID cases
The Union Health ministry warned against any COVID laxity as the country recorded 12,193 fresh COVID-19 cases within the last 24 hours, escalating the active cases to 67,556.
The death toll in the last 24 hours is the highest since the resurge occurred, as the overall number reached 5,31,300, with 42 more fatalities, including 10 reconciled by Kerala.
Cumulatively, India has recorded 4,48,81,877 COVID cases to date.
On April 21, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Haryana and Delhi received letters from the Union Health ministry in the wake of rising COVID cases.
The ministry asked the states to strengthen their COVID-19 surveillance in all districts. It also called for maintaining an adequate level of testing and sending positive samples for whole genome sequencing.
“India has been witnessing a consistent rise in COVID-19 cases since March 2023, with 10,262 cases reported in the week ending April 20, 2023,” the Health Ministry stated in its letter.
“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. This is a cause for concern,” the Health ministry stated.
The Ministry sees a spread in infection, especially at a localised level, which is propelling the numbers.
“While the rates of hospitalisation and deaths due to COVID-19 have remained low, states and districts reporting a higher number of cases may indicate a possible localised spread of infection, thus necessitating a closer look at these states and districts (high daily cases and/or high-test positivity rates),” the letter alerted.
“The pandemic is still not over, and we must remain cautious against laxity at any level, which may nullify the gains made in pandemic management so far,” the Ministry observed.
