More than half of country’s total Covid cases from Kerala, Maharashtra: Health ministry

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Jul 09, 2021: More than half of country’s total Covid-19 cases are from two states - Maharashtra and Kerala, the health ministry said on Friday, adding that the second wave is not completely gone yet.

 

The health ministry said that 14 districts in Kerala and 15 in Maharashtra are of concern.

Health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal, during a press conference on the Covid-19 situation in the country, stressed that Covid norms should not be flouted as the virus is still very much there.

He also informed that the daily new cases in the country continue to show a decline. There has been a decline of 8 per cent in average daily new cases in the last week, Lav Agarwal said. He added that 80 per cent of the new cases are from 90 districts.

Reiterating the importance of following Covid precautions, the health ministry joint secretary mentioned how the virus has shown a resurgence in the United Kingdom, which hosted the Euro Cup 2021 semi-finals with a sea of football fans enjoying the match flouting Covid norms.
"We need to continue to take all precautions. The United Kingdom, Russia and Bangladesh have seen a resurgence of Covid-19 cases," he said.

Health ministry’s word of caution comes as daily cases in the country have dipped considerably and there is a dire need that the deciding trend continues to keep the third wave at bay.

India on Friday registered 43,393 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the overall coronavirus tally in the country to 3,07,52,950, according to the data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The top five states which have registered the maximum number of Covid-19 cases are Kerala with 13,772 cases, followed by Maharashtra with 9,083 cases, Tamil Nadu with 3,211 cases, Andhra Pradesh with 2,982 cases and Assam with 2,644 cases.

Meanwhile, PM Modi on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review the augmentation and availability of medical oxygen across the country. Principal secretary to PM, cabinet secretary, health secretary, MoHUA (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs) secretary were among other officials present at the meeting.

During the high-level meeting, PM Modi was informed that more than 1,500 PSA Oxygen plants are being set up across the country to mitigate the shortage of oxygen supply reported by many hospitals across several states. These PSA Oxygen plants are capable of supporting more than 4 lakh oxygenated beds, officials told PM Modi.

Courtesy:India Today