The central government yesterday sent high-level teams to Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to support the states in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
These states have been either reporting a rise in the number of active cases or an increase in the daily new cases.
The three-member teams will visit districts reporting a high number of Covid-19 cases and support the states’ efforts in strengthening containment, surveillance, testing, infection prevention and control measures, and efficient clinical management of the positive cases, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.
The teams would also guide the states in effectively managing the challenges related to timely diagnosis and follow-up.
Earlier, the government sent five high-level teams to Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Manipur and Chhattisgarh.
India reported less than 50,000 new single-day coronavirus cases for the 15th consecutive day yesterday as its total tally reached 90,95,806.
With 45,209 new cases and 43,493 more patients discharged in the last 24 hours, the country’s active cases totalled 4,40,962, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, with a surge in cases across Delhi, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to test all people coming from the national capital.
“We will be testing people coming from Delhi via flight, bus or train, in the wake of a surge in Covid-19 cases in the national capital,” Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari said.
Delhi has been witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases over the last few days, forcing the neighbouring states and cities to restrict the movement of people.
Earlier, the local administration in Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad and Gurugram in Haryana had decided to randomly test passengers coming from Delhi.
In Chandigarh, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar urged people to use face masks to contain the virus and said the government would distribute 10mn masks among the public.
Ruling out the imposition of a lockdown again, Khattar said in a televised address that a fine of Rs500 would be enforced on those violating safety norms in public places.
In Hyderabad, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said his government will take all measures to fight a second wave of Covid-19 in the state.
“The situation is coming back to normal in the state. Covid cases are on the decrease in Telangana. Despite a high increase in the number of tests conducted, the positive cases are less than 10% and the recovery rate is 94.5%. As of now, the situation is very much under control,” the chief minister said.
He noted that there is a sudden surge of Covid cases in Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh while cases are slightly on the rise in Kerala and Karnataka.
“It is estimated that with this, there is a chance of Covid second wave emerging. The state should be in a position to withstand even the second wave and for this, officials should be alert and ready,” he said.
l In order to boost the fight against Covid-19, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi has started recruiting 207 more Junior Resident (JR) doctors, officials said.
The premier central institute is recruiting these additional doctors after filling up 194 vacancies through online registration and recruitment in August.
These additional doctors will help deal with the increasing Covid-19 cases in Delhi as part of the central government’s plan to help the city government.
A group of 45 doctors and 160 paramedics from the Central Armed Police Forces arrived in the national capital earlier this week to complement the Delhi government efforts to tackle rising coronavirus infections.
A Delhi Civil Defence (DCD) volunteer fines a truck owner for not maintaining social distancing in transporting people as a preventive measure against the coronavirus, in New Delhi yesterday.
