COVID-19 Caseload In India: As COVID-19 cases continue to surge in the country, there are various specifications that need to look upon in different states of the country.
As per the Union Health Ministry, certain cities have already reported an early signs of a plateau in COVID cases. The govt says the trends need to be observed with all the required precautions in place.
Lav Agarwal, who’s the joint secretary of the health ministry stated that there are as many as 10 states that continue to observe active COVID-19 cases.
These states contribute over 77% of the total active cases in the country. Some of the states that lead the tally include Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Early Signs of A Flat COVID-19 Caseload In India: Government
As per the data receive by the Ministry, states like West Bengal, Haryana, Odisha, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh have registered a steady decline in daily COVID-19 caseload.
There are some districts that have been put on radar including Nagpur, Ernakulam and Pune. Study also suggests that over 90% active cases are under home isolation, indicating mild to moderate severity.
This is what he stated, “A clear trend in terms of fewer COVID cases requiring oxygen-supported beds or ICU beds has been observed. Also, active COVID-19 cases and corresponding deaths are much lower during the present wave compared to earlier surges,” he said.
Mr. Agarwal also stated about the warning against any laxity in observing COVID-appropriate behavior. He said that around 400 districts are reported with 10% weekly positivity. While 141 districts reported 5-10% in the week ended on January 26.
Sujeet Singh, who’s the director at National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) warned that Delta variant cases need to be observed as such cases have not been completely eliminated.
This is what he stated, “Unvaccinated persons with co-morbidities form the high risk risk group currently and maximum fatalities due to COVID are being reported from this group,’’ he said.
He also said that right now, Omicron sub-variant BA.2 is more prevalent in India as compared to variant BA.1 that look more dominant when international travelers were being analyzed.
He also discussed on the prevalence of the Omicron variant in India. As per Sujit, 1,292 cases were actually found at the time of genome sequencing in India in December that actually rose up to 9,672 cases in January.
Balram Bhargava who’s the chief at ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) stated that states where vaccination drive is running slow needs to speed up “Deaths have been considerably reduced due to vaccination,’’ he stated.
Looking at the current surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in some states, this is what home ministry has written to such states, “those attaining age of 15 years as on Jan. 2023, are eligible for vaccine under 15-18 age group. It has been clarified that those born in years 2005, 2006 & 2007 are eligible in 15-18 years’ category.’’
Mr. Agarwal who was giving a briefing to the media stated that close to 98,000 healthcare workers along with comorbid people aged over 60 years have already been given the precautionary dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
In addition to the above, over 59% adolescents in the age group of 15-18 year have also received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
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