“Emerging states of concerns reporting high positive rates- Maharashtra with a rate positivity rate of 22.39 per cent, West Bengal 32.18 per cent, Delhi 23.1 per cent and Uttar Pradesh 4.47 per cent,” he added. Agarwal also stated that there are eight countries in Europe that are reporting an increase of cases by more than two times in the last two weeks
New Delhi:
As many as 300 districts in India are reporting weekly case positivity of more than 5 per cent with Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Gujarat emerging as states of concern, the Union government said on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference, Joint Secretary in Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections has been noted in India with the case positivity climbing to 11.05 per cent on Wednesday from 1.1 per cent on December 30.
The official said that currently, 300 districts in India are reporting weekly case positivity of more than 5 per cent.
Informing the press conference that 19 states have over 10,000 active Covid cases, Agarwal said Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Gujarat are emerging as states of concern due to rise in Covid cases there.
Stressing on the importance of getting inoculated, he quoted the World Health Organisation to say that vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation appears to be substantially higher than against symptomatic COVID-19 disease.
NITI Aayog Member (Health) V K Paul said, “Omicron is not the common cold, cannot take it lightly. We need to be vigilant, get vaccinated and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour.”
“Vaccination is an important pillar in our Covid response programme,” he added.
India added 194,720 new infections to its tally of COVID-19 cases pushing it to 3,60,70,510, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Wednesday.
A total of 115 people died across the world due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19 so far, out of which, one death has been reported in India, informed Agarwal, .
Agarwal said, “Total 115 confirmed deaths globally due to Omicron and 1 death in India.”
“Omicron has a substantial growth advantage over Delta as per WHO…Data from South Africa, the UK, Canada, Denmark suggests a reduced risk of hospitalization for Omicron compared to Delta,” Agarwal said.
Mentioning a steep surge in coronavirus cases across India, he said, “A sharp surge in COVID cases in India with the active cases 9,55,319 today. Emerging states of concern (reporting surge in COVID cases) are Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Gujarat.”
“Emerging states of concerns reporting high positive rates- Maharashtra with a rate positivity rate of 22.39 per cent, West Bengal 32.18 per cent, Delhi 23.1 per cent and Uttar Pradesh 4.47 per cent,” he added. Agarwal also stated that there are eight countries in Europe that are reporting an increase of cases by more than two times in the last two weeks.
The Joint Secretary further said that after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a review meeting on the COVID-19 situation on January 9, the health ministry has revised the discharge policy with severity categorised into mild and moderate cases. “
Mild case discharge after at least seven days from testing positive and non-emergency for three successive days, no need for testing prior to discharge,” he further added.
For moderate cases, the Joint Secretary said, “If there is a resolution of symptoms, the patient maintains O2 saturation more than 93 per cent for three successive days (without O2)..such patient will be discharged.”
Meanwhile, India recorded as many as 1,94,720 fresh COVID-19 infections and 442 fatalities in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday.
With this, the total tally of COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 3,60,70,510 including 9,55,319 active cases. The daily positivity rate due to this virus in the country is at 11.05 per cent. Active cases account for 2.65 per cent of the total cases.