Kerala reported a slight increase in Covid cases, as health minister Veena George said 172 cases were reported on Tuesday. Of this, maximum number of cases were from Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam districts. She said there was a marginal rise in the number of cases.
At present, there are 1,026 active Covid cases. Of these, 111 patients are under treatment in hospitals. George said all districts were put on alert. A high-level meeting was chaired by the health minister to assess the Covid situation in the state.
“Covid clusters have not formed in the state. More genome sequencing will be conducted to see if there are new variants. The number of Covid patients in medical colleges has not increased," the minister said.
The minister also gave out instructions to strengthen surveillance measures. In view of the increasing number of Covid patients, the minister directed to set aside more beds, ICU and ventilator systems in hospitals. She also directed the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd to ensure there were test kits and medicines.
The health department also urged people to take measures to protect themselves from the viral infection by wearing masks and taking other precautions.
“It is important to take precautions as the new variant spreads easily. People should wear masks. People with co-morbidities, the elderly, children, pregnant women should take special care. They should wear masks properly while going to public places. Everyone should ensure that they wear mask inside hospitals," George said, adding that the health department was reviewing Covid cases daily.
Although no Covid-19 clusters have formed in the state, districts and hospitals have been directed to draw up plans to tackle rising cases, the health department said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said Covid-19 was “far from over" as he chaired a high-level meeting in Delhi and called for maintaining vigil and precaution amid a spike in influenza and coronavirus cases over the past two weeks.
India has recorded 1,134 new coronavirus cases, while active cases increased to 7,026, according to union health ministry data updated on Wednesday. The death toll climbed to 5,30,813 with five deaths. One death each has been reported in Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra while one fatality was reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
Read all the Latest India News here
