E-Paper
Sharp increase in Covid cases in 3-4 days, situation concerning in 22 districts: Centre
No need to panic, but there is a need to be vigilant, Niti Aayog (health) member Dr VK Paul said. The present surge could be part of the global rise pushed by Omicron, Dr Paul said. India's R-value at this point is 1.22, the Centre said.
Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram, Ahmedabad, Nashik are reporting an increasing trajectory of Covid cases, the Centre on Thursday said expressing concern over the sharp spike in the overall Covid cases of the country. December 26 onwards, India's daily Covid tally has been increasing, joint secretary of the health department, Lav Agarwal said, addressing the ministry's weekly press briefing on the Covid-19 situation. The Centre is in contact with districts which are areas of concern, the secretary said.
Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram, Ahmedabad, Nashik are reporting an increasing trajectory of Covid cases, the Centre on Thursday said expressing concern over the sharp spike in the overall Covid cases of the country. December 26 onwards, India's daily Covid tally has been increasing, joint secretary of the health department, Lav Agarwal said, addressing the ministry's weekly press briefing on the Covid-19 situation. The Centre is in contact with districts which are areas of concern, the secretary said.
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Here is what the health ministry said about India's Covid-19 situation and vaccines
1. Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are the five states with the highest number of active Covid cases.
2. Eight districts in India are reporting more than 10% weekly positivity rate. Six of them fall in Mizoram, 1 in Arunachal Pradesh and 1 in West Bengal (Kolkata).
3. 14 districts in India are reporting a weekly positivity rate between 5% and 10% including 6 in Kerala, 4 in Mizoram, 1 each in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand and Manipur.
4. The virus is mutating which calls for stepped-up vigilance from the public, the Centre said.
5. Talking about immunity post the infection, ICMR DG Dr Balram Bhargava said the durability of immunity post-infection persists for about nine months. Post-vaccination immunity also lasts for around 9 months, Dr Bhargava said, citing international and Indian studies.
6. The R-value is 1.22, which means the cases are not shrinking, Niti Aaayog member (health) Dr VK Paul said. R-Value signifies the spread of the virus and a value of 1.22 means 100 infected people are spreading the infection to 122 people.
7. The increase of Covid cases in India could be part of the global rise pushed by Omicron, Dr Paul said, adding that there is no need to panic as the country is prepared to handle any surge.
