Centre directs 8 states, including Kerala, to maintain strict COVID-19 surveillance.

On Friday, the Central government urged eight states, including Kerala and Tamil Nadu, to exercise extreme caution in light of the surge in Covid cases. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan stressed in a letter to the states that Covid is still not over, and that pre-emptive measures must be taken in areas of concern to contain the spread of the virus. He also warned against laxity at any level, as this may nullify the gains made in pandemic management so far. The country has been witnessing a consistent rise in COVID-19 cases since March, with 10,262 cases reported in the week ending April 20. Bhushan also noted an increase in positivity rate across the country, from 4.7 per cent to 5.5 per cent in the previous week.

The states have been advised to encourage uptake of precaution doses among eligible beneficiaries, counter vaccine hesitancy through community awareness, and improve community awareness to encourage early reporting of symptoms and testing, as well as adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviours. Bhushan also provided specific information on the situation in each state. For example, Uttar Pradesh reported an increase in weekly cases from 279 to 696 in the week ending 20 April. While the state reported a positivity rate of 2.19 per cent in the same week, one district reported a positivity rate higher than 10 per cent and 4 districts reported a positivity rate between 5 and 10 per cent during the same period.

As for Tamil Nadu, the state reported an increase in weekly cases from 356 to 510 in the week ending April 20, with a positivity rate of 6 per cent in the week ending April 19. Eleven districts reported positivity rates higher than 10 per cent and 12 districts reported positivity rates between 5 and 10 per cent in the same week. Rajasthan reported an increase in cases from 181 to 435 in the week ending April 20, with six districts reporting positivity rates higher than 10 per cent and 11 districts reporting positivity rates between 5 and 10 per cent in the week ending April 19. Lastly, Maharashtra reported an increase in weekly cases from 774 to 872 in the week ending April 20, with a positivity rate of 6.87 per cent in the week ending April 19.