To quell Covid spike, teams rushed to Himachal, Punjab

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 22

Major signs of concern around India’s Covid-19 response and the impact of festive gatherings and winter on the pandemic surfaced on Sunday with daily new cases surpassing daily new recoveries after a gap of 50 days.

India witnessed 45,209 new infections over the past 24 hours as against 43,493 recoveries. As daily cases continued to rise, the Centre on Sunday deputed high-level teams for Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

Read also: Race for covid vaccine

The three-member teams will visit the districts reporting high cases and support the states in strengthening containment, surveillance and testing, and efficient clinical management of the positive cases.

The Health Ministry had said recently that the full impact of festive gatherings was still to play out. A part of it became evident today as the gains of 50 days (when daily new recoveries were outstripping daily fresh cases) were breached for the first time.

Some positive signs, however, remain. As total cases rose to 90,95,806 with 85,21,617 recoveries which make up 93.69 pc of the total cases, the fatality rate remained stable at 1.46 per cent and active cases fell to 4,40,962 making up only 4.85 per cent of the total cases. However, the active cases that had been witnessing a decline over the past many days today rose nationally by 1,215, indicating a surge, as anticipated during winter.

More RT-PCR tests than rapid antigen

New Delhi: Noting that for the first time the number of RT-PCR tests in Delhi has exceeded the rapid antigen tests, officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs said, over 3.7 lakh people have been surveyed as part of the efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 infection in the national Capital. TNS

Himachal Govt to take call on curbs

Shimla: The HP Cabinet on Monday is likely to decide on imposing fresh restrictions to tackle Covid-19 surge. Hinting at it, CM Jai Ram Thakur said, “The government will consider imposing a few curbs to avoid social gatherings and ensure that people take all precautionary measures.” TNS

Active cases in Punjab up by 60% in 3 weeks

Chandigarh: After a decline in Covid-19 cases, it is clear from the data that the state is heading towards another peak as it witnessed almost 60 per cent increase in active cases in the past three weeks. The cases hit the peak in the state in mid-September. After a lull, the number has again started surging. At present, the number of active cases is 6,724. TNS