IMA expresses concern over Covid surge in country, cites these 3 reasons

India Covid Cases: Indian Medical Association cited various reasons for the recent spike in Covid infections across the country.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) warned that the recent spike in Covid cases may be recorded due to the relaxation of virus appropriate behaviour, low testing rates and the emergence of a new variant of the virus, news agency ANI reported. This comes as India reported 5,880 new Covid cases on Monday, slightly increasing from Sunday's count of 5,357, according to data released by Union Health Ministry.

A healthcare worker collects a swab sample of a man for Covid-19 test. (PTI)(HT_PRINT)

With this, active cases currently stand at 35,199 with a daily positivity rate of 6.91 per cent, the data stated.

In the last 24 hours, 3,481 recoveries were logged taking the total recoveries to 4,41,96,318.

Covid-19 mock drill LIVE UPDATES

According to the daily health bulletin shared by the ministry, 220.66 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered so far under the nationwide inoculation drive.

Several states and Union Territories including Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Goa conducted mock drills on Monday in government and private hospitals to review and ensure the proper arrangements for the treatment of Covid-19 patients after the country witnessed a continuous surge in the number of infections.

Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on April 7 chaired a review meeting with health ministers of all states and Union Territories and urged to conduct mock drills at public and private hospitals on April 10 and 11 to assess their preparedness in handling a surge in the Covid cases. He also directed the states to ramp up genome testing.

Meanwhile, as a precautionary measure, several states have issued Covid guidelines and made masks mandatory again. In Kerala, pregnant women, the elderly and people ailing with lifestyle diseases are required to wear masks in public places. Haryana government has made wearing face masks mandatory for citizens in public places, where there is a gathering of more than 100 people, government offices, malls, etc, while in Puducherry, the citizens are required to wear masks compulsorily in public places like on the beach road, parks and theatres, with immediate effect.