Spike in COVID cases: Worried Centre writes to 5 states

Slow but steady rise in COVID-19 cases has prompted Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan to approach governments of five states that are reporting the maximum number of cases.

The country reported 4,283 new patients on Wednesday (June 1), the biggest single-day rise in last 80 days. A bulk of these cases were reported from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

In a letter written to the heads of the five states, Bhushan wrote: “There is a need to follow a risk assessment-based approach on the public health responses without losing the gains made so far in the fight against the pandemic … It is essential that the state must maintain a strict watch and take pre-emptive action if required to control any emerging spread of infection.”

Bhushan also promised full support from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to the states in combating the situation.

In Mumbai, the case count rose from approx. 143 a day two weeks back to 424 cases each day for the past one week – a 196% jump in just two weeks.

In Chennai, the second city after Mumbai to register sudden spike in cases, the seven-day average of daily count has gone up from 21 per day to 39 a day in the past two weeks.

Pune is another city in Maharashtra which is showing a significant rise. The seven-day average of daily COVID cases has gone up from 47 a day on average on May 18 to 75 a day in the past one week – a 60% jump in case count.

Also read: What reined in the COVID clusters in Chennai educational institutions

In Bengaluru, the case count has gone up from 114 a day to 172 every day on average in the past two weeks – a 51% jump in cases.

Delhi is an exception. The national capital is recording gradual fall in the number of cases. In the first week of May, the city witnessed a small spike of 1,423 cases for a week. However, the numbers have been declining since then.

While COVID cases are rising, the positive thing is that the number of hospitalisations remain very less when compared with the bed availability across the country.