India reported 94,392 infections and 1,108 deaths due to Covid-19 on Saturday, according to data from states showing that the country continues to report some of the gloomiest figures in the world, prompting officials and experts to make repeated appeals to people. . so as not to become complacent.
The country now registers the highest number of new cases. The average number of daily infections far exceeds the 90,000 mark in the last seven days. This figure was around 24,000 two months ago and 58,000 a month ago. India’s new case counts are more than double those of the United States and Brazil, the other two countries with the largest outbreaks.
The latest calls for caution come from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Jab tak dawai nahi, tab tak dhilai nahi. Do gaj ki doori, mask hai jaroori (There is no complacency until a medicine is found. A mask and a maintenance distance of two meters is necessary), ”Prime Minister Modi said at an event to mark the handover of 175,000 houses built in rural Madhya Pradesh. under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
According to a government statement, the Prime Minister’s Chief Secretary, PK Mishra, chaired a high-level meeting to “comprehensively review Covid-19 preparedness and response,” where case management, vaccine development and distribution were discussed. and long-term strategies. .
“Based on the many projection scenarios, the chief secretary directed all stakeholders to draw on the knowledge and analysis that have been developed over the past few months to come up with a detailed action plan for the coming months. The need to continually improve and increase human resources, obtain the right combination of evidence for effective case management, contact tracing and isolation, uninterrupted supply of oxygen and other medical equipment, were discussed in depth, “the statement said.
On Thursday, India recorded its highest number of single-day cases yet, 99,181, according to HT’s panel of Covid-19 statistics. In total, the country has had 4,751,763 cases and 78,614 due to the viral disease. Across the country, there are 976,555 active cases.
Delhi, which has seen a spike in daily new cases in recent weeks, largely due to increased testing, added 4,321 infections on Saturday bringing the city’s total count to 214,069 and 28 more deaths pushing deaths. accumulated to 4,715. It also performed 60,076 tests in 24 hours, the highest in the city so far, according to the official state health bulletin.
The central government said on Saturday that about 60% of the total cases have been from five states: Maharashtra (21.8%), Andhra Pradesh (11.8%), Tamil Nadu (10.6%), Karnataka (9 , 5%) and Uttar Pradesh (6.4%). %), according to data from the Union Ministry of Health.
Experts reiterated that taking precautions like wearing a mask in public and maintaining social distance is the only way to slow the spread of the infection.
The way forward for India would be to “prevent massive super-spreader events, reduce urban to rural transmission, micro-containment in urban areas, syndromic surveillance of households through primary health care teams with early identification for testing, isolation and local contact tracing, promoting greater adherence to masks and physical distance through local community and NGO networks, ”said Dr. Srinath Reddy, President of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).
Dr Shobha Broor, former head of the department of microbiology at the Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said: “Masks and social distancing are the only vaccines available to us at this time and the only thing we can do to avoid further spread of infection. I think people are tired of following these measures and have slowly relaxed … People need to understand the importance of wearing a mask and how to use it correctly. ”
There has been an increase in the number of cases along with India increasing tests to over 1 million per day.
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