COVID spike: State-wise measures to contain spread of virus as daily cases cross 11,000 mark
India has witnessed a sudden rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, with the country reporting 11,109 new infections in a single day, the highest in 236 days. The active cases have also gone up to 49,622, according to the Union Health Ministry and the death toll has climbed to 5,31,064, with 29 more deaths reported. As a result of this surge, several states have announced new precautions to contain the spread of the virus.
Puducherry
The Puducherry government has issued an advisory making it mandatory for people in public places to wear face masks. District Collector E. Vallavan has urged people to comply with the guidelines, as wearing face masks in public places is necessary to curb the spread of the virus.
Jharkhand
In Jharkhand, Health Minister Banna Gupta has urged the Centre to provide at least 50,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to continue with the immunisation drive in the state. The minister has also requested the intervention of Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Health Minister, for the approval of four RT-PCR laboratories at Khunti, Lohardaga, Koderma, and Pakur from the Indian Council of Medical Research.
Tamil Nadu
The Tamil Nadu government has decided to ramp up the RT-PCR testing process, increasing the daily number of tests from 4,000 to 11,000. The state’s Health Minister, M Subramaniam, also mentioned that the health department would carry out 2% random sampling of international travellers.
Odisha
In Odisha’s Bhubaneswar, the Capital Hospital has increased RT-PCR and antigen testing against Covid-19. The hospital has ten Covid observation beds with all necessary health facilities for Covid-19 patients. If a patient tests positive, they are kept under observation and then referred to Cuttack as the hospital does not have ICU facilities for Covid patients at the moment. Dhananjay Das, Deputy Superintendent at Capital Hospital, stated that compliance with Covid-19 norms is necessary to avoid an increase in cases. People should remain cautious and wear masks, and testing is necessary if there are symptoms.
