The surge in Covid-19 spread continues with 53,480 new cases registered in the last 24 hours. Various state governments have begun sounding alerts that the situation was worrisome, and citizens have begun sharing stories on social media of how the healthcare facilities had begun to get overwhelmed again. The surge in the number of Covid-19 cases has gone “from bad to worse” as per none other than Dr. VK Paul, who is a member (Health) of NITI Aayog, and chairman of the National Expert Committee on Vaccine Administration. According to Dr. Paul, “Trends show the virus is still very active just when we think we can control it, it sparks back.” He added that states have been told to enforce the Covid-19 protocol rules, “Use the law, use fine… people need to wear a mask.”
One of the major responses to this new rising wave of cases has been from the Delhi Airport, where passengers arriving from states witnessing a Covid surge will be tested randomly. Those found positive will be mandatorily quarantined. According to news reports this kind of testing may also begin at railway stations and bus terminals.
Kind attention to all the domestic flyers arriving to #DelhiAirport pic.twitter.com/nnsh1AFDCB
— Delhi Airport (@DelhiAirport) March 31, 2021
This is in view of the fact that the national capital is also recording a major surge in coronavirus cases “amid an emergent second Covid wave in other parts of the country,” reported NDTV. Delhi’s Covid tally surged to 6,60,611 total cases after 995 new infections recorded in the last 24 hours. It has been reported that some hospitals in the city have already started running out ICU beds.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh have reported 84.73% of the new cases. India’s total Active Caseload has now reached 5,52,566. Meanwhile, India’s cumulative recoveries stand at 1,14,34,301 making the national Recovery Rate 94.11%. However, 354 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
(Source: PIB)
With over 6.3 crore vaccine doses administered so far, India will now open the vaccination drive to include all those aged above 45 years on April 1. According to a report in the Hindustan times, the Union health ministry has asked states and union territories to keep vaccine wastage below 1 per cent. Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan also asked states to identify areas where vaccine coverage has been low so far and take “corrective actions” there. According to HT, National Health Authority CEO RS Sharma, who was also present at the video conference, has said states should promptly supply vaccines to hospitals according to their demand, instead of conserving vaccines for the second dose.
Related:
Covid-19: UP shuts schools for students up to class 8 till March 31