India's health ministry asks states not to lower guard amid surging pandemic cases

NEW DELHI, June 10: India's federal health ministry on Thursday wrote to the states asking them to strengthen surveillance and take pre-emptive measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 infection. The letter was written in the backdrop of a resurgence in COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks. "Sustained and significant decline in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country during the past four months. However, in the past two weeks, an upsurge in cases has been noticed. In the week ending 8th June, 2022, 4,207 average daily new cases were reported as compared to 2,663 average daily cases in the week ending 1st June, 2022," Rajesh Bhushan, federal health secretary said in the letter to the states. "There has also been an increase in the weekly positivity rate from 0.63 percent (week ending June 1, 2022) to 1.12 percent (week ending June 8, 2022). In the last 24 hours, 7,240 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in the country, out of which, 81 percent cases have been reported from four states of Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi and Karnataka (in descending order of number of new cases reported)." The ministry in the previous letters has underlined specific strategic areas of intervention for the states like testing and surveillance, clinical management, vaccination, COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and community engagement with an increased focus on evidence-based decision-making.