Covid again! Centre writes to 5 states including Mizoram over rising positivity rate

April 19: India has reported a 90 percent increase in new Covid-19 cases and 165 percent increase in positivity rate in a single day. India recorded 1,247 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. Delhi has been recording over 500 COVID-19 cases for the past three days with a positivity rate of over 4%. It is in this context that the centre has written a letter to 5 states including Mizoram over rising positivity rate.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Tuesday stated that there are a few states which are reporting a higher contribution to India’s cases and higher positivity. This ministry has advised following a risk-assessment based approach on allowing economic and social activities. The Centre wrote to Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Mizoram regarding increasing Covid-19 positivity rate and cases in these states.

The Centre stressed on the use of masks in crowded places and emphasised on  the need to implement five-fold strategy of test, track, treat, vaccination and adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour. Union Health Secretary further suggested to “Monitor Influenza-like illnesses on a regular basis for detecting early warning signals of the spread of infection.”