37 districts in nine states are of concern: Centre on COVID spike

More than 50 per cent of total COVID-19 cases in India last week was reported from Kerala, while 37 districts from nine states showing a rise in daily cases were a “matter of concern” for the Union health ministry.

Addressing the media on the COVID-19 situation in the country, the Union Health ministry said that 51.51 per cent of the total COVID cases reported last week were from Kerala. Moreover, 37 districts from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Mizoram continued to register a steady increase in daily COVID cases over the last two weeks.

Of the 37 districts, 11 were from Kerala, said the ministry officials, News18 reported. These 37 districts were a matter of concern for the ministry, the report added.

The positive news however has been the “overall declining trend” in weekly positivity cases since week ending May 10. Media reports stated that Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the ministry pointed out that the weekly positivity rate was less than 2 per cent for the second consecutive week.

Also read: COVID is nowhere near its end, warns renowned epidemiologist Larry Brilliant

In fact, India recorded the lowest number of new COVID-19 cases – 28,204 – in 147 days. The national COVID recovery rate too scaled up to 97.45 per cent, which is the highest ever recovery rate achieved so far.

India’s total tally of infections stood at 3,19,98,158, and the active coronavirus cases had dropped to 3,88,508, the lowest in 139 days, as per the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday at 8am. But the data revealed that the death toll had climbed to 4,28,682 with 373 fresh fatalities.

Media reports further said that the health officials were worried that 44 districts were reporting more than 10 per cent weekly positivity. “Only one state (Kerala) has more than 1 lakh active cases,” said Agarwal. Here’s the list of 37 districts which continue to be a source of anxiety for the central health ministry.

• Kerala – Malappuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Palakkd, Kollam, Kannur, Kasaragod, Wayanad, Pathanamthitta and Idukki
• Tamil Nadu – Coimbatore, Chennai, Erode, Chengalpattu, Thiruvallur, Pudukottai and Ariyalur
• Himachal Pradesh – Hamirpur, Kangra, Bilaspur, Chamba, Mandi and Shimla
• Karnataka – Kodagu, Uttara Kannada, Chamarajanagara, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi
• Andhra Pradesh – Srikakulam and East Godavari
• Maharashtra – Solapur and Beed
• West Bengal – 24 Pargannas North and Nadia
• Meghalaya – West Khasi Hills
• Mizoram – Saiha