The coronavirus situation “is turning from bad to bad” and is a major cause for concern, especially for some states, the center said on Tuesday, stressing that the whole country is at risk and no one should be complacent.
It is said that eight of the ten most polluted Covid-19 districts in the country are from Maharashtra and that Delhi, which is considered as a district, is also on the list.
At a press conference, Health Minister Rajesh Bhushan said the 10 districts with maximally active Covid-19 cases are Pune (59,475), Mumbai (46,248), Nagpur (45,322), Thane (35,264), Nashik (26,553), Aurangabad (21,282). , Bengaluru Urban (16,259), Nanded (15,171), Delhi (8,032), Ahmednagar (7,952).
Though technically, Delhi has many districts, but it was taken as one district, he said.
NITI Aayog Member (Health) UK Paul said, “The situation in Covid-19 is getting worse. In the last few weeks, especially in some states, this has been a major cause for concern. No state, part of country or district should be complacent. “
“We are facing an increasingly serious and intense situation, safer in some districts. But the whole country is potentially at risk and so every effort should be made to contain and save lives.”
“Preparations for hospitals and intensive care units need to be prepared. If the cases increase rapidly, the health system would be overwhelmed,” said Paul.
Regarding the rise in positivity rates, Bhushan said Maharashtra had an average positivity rate of 23% last week, followed by Punjab 8.82%, Chattisgarh 8.24%, Madhya Pradesh 7.82%, Tamil Nadu 2.5%, Karnataka 2, 45%, Gujarat 2.22% and Delhi 2.04%.
The average national positivity rate over the past week was 5.65%.
All states and territories in the Union are reporting an increase in some cases, and there is a need to increase the number of Covid-19 tests significantly and exponentially. The proportion of RT-PCR testing also needs to be increased, said Bhushan.
“On Saturday we met with these states and also spoke to 47 districts. We asked them to increase the number of tests, with a special focus on RT-PCR testing. Rapid antigen tests must be used for screening and in densely populated areas where cases come in clusters. The preferred test should be the RT-PCR, “he said.
Regarding variants of the virus, the Health Secretary said 10 laboratories have performed genome sequencing of 11,064 samples since December, of which the British variant was detected in 807 samples, the South African variant in 47 and the Brazilian variant in one.
A total of 6,11,13,354 Covid-19 vaccine doses were administered by 10 a.m. Approximately 81,74,916 healthcare workers received the first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine and 51,88,747 the second dose. 89,44,742 frontline workers received the first dose and 37,11,221 the second dose.
Bhushan also said 48.39% Telangana tops the list of states with the highest Covid-19 vaccine doses given in private facilities. Delhi ranked second with 43.11% vaccinations in private facilities, he said.
From April 1st, people over 45 years of age can be vaccinated. You can register on the CoWIN platform, the Aarogya Setu app, or register on site, which would start after 3 p.m., said the Ministry of Health.
