India reports 2,994 new covid cases in a day
1 min read 01 Apr 2023, 12:13 PM ISTThe union health ministry has directed the states and union territories to follow a risk assessment-based approach to prevent and contain the infection
PremiumNew Delhi: India reported 2,994 new covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, with daily positivity rate seeing a jump of 2.09%, the union health ministry said on Saturday. Active cases in the country have climbed to 16,354.
The country has recorded more than 44.8 million cases, and over 530,876 deaths so far. Covid cases have been increasing across the country with Karnataka reporting 1,108 active cases, while Kerala logging 4375 active cases. Maharashtra has 3090 active cases, Gujarat 2310 cases, Delhi 945 cases, Tamil Nadu 777 cases, and Himachal Pradesh 873 cases.
Scientists have said that the XBB.1.16 variant of coronavirus is responsible for the current surge in cases. But in a relief, the infection is supposed to be milder in nature and may not lead a rise in hospitalisation rate as Indians have likely developed hybrid immunity due to vaccination and natural exposure to the disease. The Centre, however, has urged people to wear masks in crowded places and complete their vaccination doses.
The union health ministry has directed the states and union territories to follow a risk assessment-based approach to prevent and contain the infection. The ministry has advised state governments to examine the covid-19 situation at micro level (district and sub-districts) and maintain focus on implementation of necessary measures for prompt and effective management of covid-19 duly ensuring effective compliance.
“The five-fold strategy, i.e., Test-Track Treat-Vaccination should be followed with continued focus on adequate & proactive testing as per guidelines, monitoring new and emerging clusters of new Covid-19 cases along with monitoring the trend of Influenza-like illness (ILI) & SARI cases in all health facilities or through dedicated fever clinics on a regular basis for detecting early warning signals of the spread of infection," the health ministry stated as there are few states which are reporting higher number of cases indicating possible localized spread of infection.
Around 4,41,71,551 people have recovered from the infection with the current recovery rate touching 98.78%.
The country has conducted over 1,43,364 tests in the last 24 hours taking the total trajectory of covid testing to 92.16 crore so far.
Under the covid vaccination drive, more than 220.65 crore vaccine doses have been administered to the people across the country so far. In the last 24 hours, around 9,981 vaccine doses were administered.
