In light of an increase in COVID-19 cases and the weekly positivity rate over the last week, the Union government asked five states on Friday, June 3 to keep a close eye on the illness and take pre-emptive action if necessary to prevent it from spreading further.
Between May 27 and June 3, India’s weekly positivity increased from 0.52 per cent to 0.73 per cent.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, highlighting that a few states were reporting a higher contribution to India’s caseload, indicating the risk of a localised spread of the virus.
“It is crucial that the states maintain a careful watch and take pre-emptive action if required to limit any growing spread of infection,” Rajesh Bhushan wrote.
The Ministry has recommended states keep implementing and monitoring the essential COVID-19 management procedures. States have been advised to transmit genetic sequencing samples of foreign passengers and local clusters.
States are required to guarantee that COVID-appropriate behaviour is followed, as well as to monitor clusters of new COVID cases and increase testing. States should also keep a close eye on influenza-like diseases and SARI cases in all health facilities on a regular basis, according to the recommendations.
The Health Ministry also stated that the number of COVID cases in India has decreased significantly during the last three months. However, after one week, there has been a modest increase in COVID instances. India has 15,708 COVID cases in the week ending June 3, 2022.