Health Ministry Warns 4 states Over Rising Covid Cases

Recently, the Union Health Secretary has written to four states to take steps to bring down the number of COVID-19 cases. The four states are- Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Maharashtra, and West Bengal.

Key Points

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has notified that these states have recently seen an increase in the number of new coronavirus cases recently.
• The ministry has advised the states to maintain a strict vigil and to take necessary actions to keep a check on the rising coronavirus cases.
• The Ministry has notified that these four states account for 59% of total coronavirus cases in the country.
• At present, the total cases detected in India are 1,03,95,278. Out of this, 2,28,083 are active cases. Total 1,50,336 people have died due to coronavirus while 1,00,16,859 people have recovered from the virus.
• The four states have been advised to follow a ‘Test-Track-Treat” strategy to fight against the virus when the new strain of the virus is also a concern.
• The authorities in these states should also promote the wearing of masks and following other covid norms during the vaccination drive also.
• The immunization drive in the country will start by January 13 or January 14 as notified by the Government of India.

COVID-19 Vaccines

The Drug Controller of India has already given approval to two COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use. The two vaccines that have been given approval are- Covishield and Covaxin.