India sees rise in Covid-19 cases, Union Health Minister urges states to ramp up testing and hospital preparedness

Desk: The number of new Covid-19 cases in India has started to rise again, with 6,155 new cases recorded in the country during the last 24 hours. This indicates a possible surge in the number of cases in the days to come.

This is the second day when India reported more than 6000 daily news cases. On Friday, the country had reported 6,050 new cases in 24 hours. On Saturday, the figure has now gone up to 6,155 new cases.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a virtual meeting with state health ministers on Friday to discuss the situation.

He urged the states to ramp up testing, monitor cases of influenza-like illnesses, and ensure that hospital infrastructure is ready to handle a potential surge in cases.

The state health ministers were asked to review their preparedness over the next two days and conduct mock drills on April 10 and 11.

According to the latest update on Covid-19 released by the government, a total of 220.66 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. In the last 24 hours, 1,963 doses were administered.

The active caseload currently stands at 31,194, which is 0.07% of total cases. The recovery rate is currently at 98.74%, with 3,253 recoveries in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 4,41,89,111.

The daily positivity rate is 5.63%, while the weekly positivity rate is 3.47%. A total of 92.26 crore tests have been conducted so far, with 1,09,378 tests conducted in the last 24 hours.

The rising number of new Covid-19 cases in India is a cause for concern, and the government is taking steps to ensure that the situation is kept under control.

The vaccination drive is continuing, and people are being urged to follow all Covid-19 protocols, such as wearing masks, social distancing, and washing hands regularly, to prevent the spread of the virus.

With the mock drills scheduled for April 10 and 11, the government is working to ensure that the healthcare infrastructure is ready to handle a potential surge in cases.