Spike in Covid Cases in India
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 30: Recording a sudden spurt in Coronavirus cases, India on Thursday registered 3,016 new Covid cases, about 50 per cent jump over the previous day. Thursday’s total number of cases was the highest in day in the last six months indicating that Coronavirus may again be stealthily back in the country.
The number of active cases also jumped to 13,509 and the daily positivity rate rises to 2.73%, according to the data released by the union health ministry. The data also said 15,784 persons were vaccinated against Covid on Wednesday.
While Kerala recorded 765 new Covid cases on Thursday, Maharashtra reported 694 new cases, as against 483 new cases on Wednesday, and Delhi registered 300 new cases, the highest in a day since August 31, 2022.
The last time Maharashtra recorded over 600 cases in a day was on October 27 at 972 cases. Four weeks back, the state had a positivity rate of 1.05 per cent but between March 22 and 28, it reported 6.15 per cent. Positivity rate indicates the number of positive cases per 100 tests.
The daily reporting of Covid cases is high in districts such as Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Raigad, Nashik and Sangli. The state government has appealed to people to avoid gathering in crowded places and has urged them to use masks to minimise the spread of the infection.
The Kerala health minister Veena George said an alert has been issued to all districts as the number of positive cases have started increasing in the state. She said it had been found that Omicron was spreading in the state. A high-level review meeting was convened by the health minister.
This is the first time that the state has reported over 750 cases in the last six months. The number of positive cases reported on Wednesday was 512. The total number of active cases now has touched 3,389 which is the highest in the country.
Amid a sudden spike in Covid cases in the national capital, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi has decided to step up its daily testing of samples for the pathogen, Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said on Thursday. The positivity rate rose to 13.89 per cent, according to the data shared by the health department. Two Covid-related deaths were also reported, it said.
Speaking to reporters after chairing an emergency meeting on Thursday to take stock of the prevailing Covid situation in the national capital and draw up a plan to deal with the rising cases, Bhardwaj advised hospitals to test any patient showing symptoms of Covid-19.
“We will step up testing as and when the situation demands,” the Delhi Health minister told reporters. Bhardwaj held a meeting with experts on Thursday to assess the Covid situation in the national capital as the number of daily new cases touched 300 on Wednesday, the first time since September, last year. He, however, said there was no need to panic because of a spurt in cases.
Bhardwaj also said they were getting some indicators about the spike in Covid cases but in any case the government was fully prepared.
