10 districts including 8 from Maharashtra have highest active COVID-19 cases

The most number of active COVID19 cases have been found in 10 districts across India including eight districts in Maharashtra the most affected state in the country that has seen the highest surge in the number of infections the health ministry said on TuesdayUnion Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said while briefing the media that eight out of ten districts with most number of active cases across the country are in MaraharashtraThe 10 districts are Pune Mumbai Nagpur Thane Nashik Aurangabad Bengaluru Urban Nanded Delhi and AhmednagarThe health secretary said that 807 cases of the UK strain 47 cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant of the Covid19 virus have been found in India so farThe Union Health Secretary informed that the recovery rate in the country stands at 94 per cent while the case fatality rate stands at 134 per centAccording to Bhushan the weekly national average positivity rate is 565 per cent Maharashtra has a weekly average of 23 per cent Punjab 882 per cent Chhattisgarh 8 per cent Madhya Pradesh 782 per cent Tamil Nadu 250 per cent Karnataka 245 per cent Gujarat 22 per cent and Delhi 204 per centStating measures that need to be taken to curb the spread of the disease Bhushan said that those who test positive need to be isolated immediatelyBhushan said that surveillance of the COVIDpositive patient needs to be done in case of home isolation and if that is not possible then the person should be quarantined in an Institutional centreHe said Isolation isnt taking place in most states people are being told to isolate at home But its to be monitored if theyre actually doing it If they cant they must be quarantined institutionally Delhi was able to bring numbers under control through itThe Union Health Secretary also stated that all close contacts need to be tracked in 72 hours including not just family members but others with whom the person is interactingBhushan also expressed the need for increased testing with a focus on RTPCR tests adding that Rapid Antigen tests should be done in densely populated areasWe spoke to representatives of these states We told them why are they not increasing testing when cases are increasing Its essential to increase testing with a focus on RTPCR tests Rapid Antigen tests be used for screening tests in densely populated areas said the Union Health SecretaryResponding to a question on whether the Maharashtra government has said that it wants to do doortodoor vaccination Bhushan said Till date we havent received any specific request from the Maharashtra Govternment In India we do Universal Immunisation but even there weve not done doortodoor vaccinationWe are facing an increasingly severe and intensive situation in some districts but the whole country is potentially at risk All efforts to contain the virus and save lives should be taken added Dr VK Paul MemberHealth Niti Aayog on the current COVID19 situation in the countryThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever