In view of the increase in Covid-19 cases and weekly positivity rate in the past one week, the Center on Friday advised five states to maintain strict vigil and take pre-emptive action, if necessary, to control any emerging spread. To be. infection.
This advisory is not in the context of what the country is looking at on the COVID-front. new coronavirus infection in India Above 4,000 were recorded in a single day after 84 days on Friday. Mumbai has seen its biggest spike since February 4, amid an Omicron version-driven wave and authorities in Delhi are trying to enforce strict compliance with COVID-19 norms in the city and Airport,
Are we heading towards the fourth wave of COVID-19? News18 states:
Center flags ‘localized’ spread
In a letter to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan highlighted that some states were reporting higher contributions to India’s caseload, which is likely to increase the likelihood of local spread of the infection. It reflects. “Therefore, there is a need to follow a risk assessment-based approach on public health responses without losing the gains made so far in the fight against the pandemic,” Bhushan said.
In the letter, he mentioned that India has witnessed a continuous and significant decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in the last three months. However, there is a slight jump in cases, with 15,708 new infections reported in the week ended May 27, which rose to 21,055 in the week ended June 3.
Also, the weekly positivity has increased from 0.52 per cent in the week ended May 27, 2022 to 0.73 per cent in the week ended June 3. Let’s take a look at the pattern of increase in cases in these states:
How bad is the situation of Kovid in these states?
Tamil Nadu
According to the Centre’s letter, Tamil Nadu has registered an increase in weekly new cases from 335 in the week ended May 27 to 659 in the week ended June 3. The state has also seen an increase in positivity from 0.4 in the last week. percent to 0.8 percent. Analyzing the COVID-19 situations across the district, it is observed that two districts, Chennai and Chengalpattu, have registered an increase in weekly cases and positivity.
Kerala
Kerala has registered an increase in weekly new cases from 4,139 new infections in the week ended May 27 to 6,556 in the week ended June 3, which is 31.14 per cent of India’s new cases in the week ended June 3. The state saw positivity increase from 5.2 per cent to 7.8 per cent in the last week, Bhushan noted in the letter. He said that while analyzing the COVID-19 situation across the district, it was observed that 11 districts Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Alappuzha, Kollam, Kannur, Malappuram and Wayanad registered an increase in weekly cases and positivity. Has been.
Telangana
Telangana, the letter highlights, has reported an increase in weekly new cases from 287 new infections in the week ended May 27, to 375 new infections in the week ended June 3, India’s new cases in the week ending June 3. accounting for 1.78 percent of. 3 June. This too has seen an increase in positivity from 0.4 percent to 0.5 percent in the last week.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra has registered an increase in weekly new cases from 2,471 new infections in the week ended May 27 to 4,883 in the week ended June 3, which is 23.19 per cent of India’s new cases in the week ended June 3. The state has also seen the positivity increase from 1.5 per cent to 3.1 per cent last week, the letter said. It is observed that six districts of Mumbai Suburban, Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Raigad and Palghar have registered an increase in weekly cases and positivity.
Karnataka
Karnataka has registered an increase in weekly new cases from 1,003 new infections in the week ended May 27 to 1,446 in the week ended June 3, which is 6.87 per cent of India’s new cases in the week ended June 3. It is also seen that the positivity increased from 0.8 per cent to 1.1 per cent last week, the letter said. Bengaluru Urban has registered an increase in weekly cases and positives.
BMC rushes to conduct tests in July amid ‘likely’ fourth wave
Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday directed the city’s health departments to expedite COVID-19 testing amid a possible fourth wave of Covid-19.
“The number of Covid-19 cases is increasing rapidly in Mumbai in the last few days. In view of the possible fourth wave warnings given by medical experts and the possibility of water-borne diseases during monsoon, Municipal Commissioner Dr Iqbal Singh Chahal has directed that all concerned departments should be equipped,” the civic body said in an official statement. Told.
Anticipating a new wave, BMC officials on Friday met all officials, urging them to increase testing, organize testing camps in housing societies, where many positive cases have been reported, and jumbo centers and ward wars. Refurbish the room, report a report times of India Told.
The BMC chief said in the meeting that as experts from IIT Kanpur have predicted that the fourth wave will come in July, the city should be extremely cautious. In the coming days, it has been decided to increase the testing from 8,000 tests per day to 30,000-40,000 tests.
The Maharashtra Health Department on Friday asked district and civic authorities to expedite the testing of COVID-19.
In a letter to collectors, municipal corporations and chief executive officers, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Pradeep Vyas said that all districts should ensure that the proportion of RT-PCR tests is at least 60 per cent.
Are the new variants BA.4 and BA.5 a cause for concern?
Alarm bells were raised when the country began reporting Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 as the worldwide Covid-19 spikes have been attributed to these sub-variants. But virologists and experts caution against being overly concerned about the infection. It is important to be vigilant, but there is no need to panic as most of the population has been vaccinated or has been infected.
Well known virologist Dr Shahid Jameel told Indian Express “We definitely have to be vigilant. If a person comes in contact with the virus, he can get infected, but will not progress to a mild disease. This is mainly because most of the people in the country are either infected with the virus. have come in contact or have been vaccinated. This will continue as many endemic infections behave this way. We need to be vigilant about how many are hospitalised.”
Dr. Sanjay Pujari, an expert member of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), also told The Indian Express that even though antibody levels decrease over time, memory cells of T cells, which are primed for an immune response to the virus. They are responsible for preventing serious disease. “The evolution of the SARS-CoV2 virus, both in terms of lineage and because of its ability to evade immunity, has been challenging. The new sub-variant has the highest survival potential for vaccination and hybrid immunity. Prevention of infection is the act of neutralizing antibodies and when these are reduced, new subtypes add to the potential to develop re-infection. However, the cause of mild illness is T cell immunity,” he said.
What is the way forward?
In a letter issued by the ministry to states on April 8, 2022, relaxation of various activities, for strategic areas of intervention such as testing and surveillance, clinical management, immunization, and community engagement with greater focus on evidence You have been asked to refer to the instructions issued. – Based decision making.
They have been advised to continue monitoring and implementation of necessary measures for prompt and effective management of COVID-19 and ensure compliance of various advisories issued by the Ministry.
Bhushan said in the letter that a five-fold strategy of monitoring clusters of new COVID-19 cases and adequate testing as per the guidelines, along with test-track-treatment-vaccination and adherence to COVID-appropriate behaviour, was followed. should go.
Monitoring of Influenza Like Illnesses (ILI) and SARI cases in all health facilities to detect early warning signs of the spread of infection and genomic sequencing for prescribed samples of international travellers, sentinel samples also focused on monitoring on a regular basis should go. sites (identified health facilities), and local clusters of cases.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Friday called for strict action against those violating the norms of masking and hand hygiene in airports and aircraft, observing that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over and Keeps rearing its ugly head.
The High Court said that all such persons, who are found to be violating these norms, should be booked and fined and placed on the no-fly list and said that compliance of the norms should be enforced. It is necessary to introduce adequate deterrents. It said it has been observed that often the norms are not implemented seriously on the ground with which they are formulated and hence, it is necessary for the authorities including Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ensure that the implementation is ensured on the same. Do it. The ground is properly affected.
With input from agencies
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