PM Modi to hold high-level meeting today to review Covid situation as cases surge

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a high-level meeting today at 4:30 pm to review the Covid situation in the country. The cases of Covid infection have risen in some states in the last few weeks. Last week, the Health Ministry wrote to six states asking them to focus on new clusters where cases are surging.

Today, India recorded 1,134 new cases, while the active cases jumped to 7,026. The death toll climbed to 5,30,813 with five deaths. One death each has been reported by Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, and Maharashtra while one fatality was reconciled by Kerala. The daily positivity was recorded at 1.09 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.98 per cent.

Also read: Covid-19 update: India records over 1,000 new cases and 5 deaths in past 24 hours

Delhi reported 83 cases with a positivity rate of 5.83 per cent on Tuesday. The city has seen an increase in the number of fresh cases over the last few days, amid a sharp rise in H3N2 influenza cases in the country.

On Tuesday, Maharashtra recorded 280 new cases and one death, taking the tally to 81,40,145 and the toll to 1,48,429. The daily count of cases in the maximum city has more than doubled since Monday when it reported 128 new cases. 

Last Thursday, the Health Ministry wrote to six states and advised them to monitor new clusters. The states where cases have risen are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. 

In the letter, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that since the past few weeks, a rise in cases has been noted specifically in certain parts. He said a total of 1,082 cases were reported in the week ending March 8 which rose to 3,264 cases in the week ending March 15.

The secretary said that some states were reporting a high number of cases, indicating the possible localised spread of infection, and "there is a need to follow a risk assessment-based approach to prevent and contain the infection."