'Situation Turning Worse', Says Centre As India Records 56,211 COVID-19 Cases On Tuesday; Lists 7 Strategies To Control Situation

On Tuesday during a press conference; Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan listed out the 10 districts which have reported the maximum COVID-19 cases, they are; Pune (59,475), Mumbai (46,248), Nagpur (45,322), Thane (35,264), Nashik (26,553), Aurangabad (21,282), Bengaluru Urban (16,259), Nanded (15,171), Delhi (8,032), Ahmednagar (7,952).

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New Delhi: On Tuesday the Centre wrote to various states and Union Territories because there has been a steady rise in Covid cases. The Centre listed out various strategies to battle the worsening situation.

“Some districts that saw a high number of cases in August-November are again seeing high growth rates of cases. In addition, a number of new districts that saw a limited prevalence earlier, are worryingly, showing a surge in Covid cases,” the letter states.

In the letter, Bhushan said, "After having successfully brought down the number of new COVID-19 cases from mid-September 2020 to February 2021, India is now witnessing a rapid rise in cases. You have been leading the effort of COVID Pandemic management with your teams so far. The current rise in cases is of concern and has the potential of overwhelming health care systems, unless checked right now."

In a the letter published by ANI, the strategies listed out by the Health Secretary:

1. Individual actions such as proper wearing of masks covering nose & mouth, maintaining a distance of 6 feet from others, and sanitizing one’s hands frequently.
2. Isolating all those who are positive, tracing their contacts atleast 25 to 30 of them then quarantining and testing them. In cases, there are clusters of cases larger containment zones with clear boundaries and stringent controls must be implemented.
3. Efficient implementation of “Test Track and Treat” remains the only proven strategy for control of transmission.
4. Each district should have a District Action Plan with clear timelines and responsibilities. The said responsibilities will include, mapping cases, creating Emergency Operations Center with a team to monitor the indicators 24x7. Formation of Containment Zones (CZ) in compliance with the SOPs for Containment Zones issued by MoHFW. 
5. Covid appropriate behaviour must be enforced using Police Act, or powers under DM Act as applicable. Besides, elected representatives, local influencers, celebrities, religious leaders etc. should be roped in to ensure Covid appropriate behaviour.
6. Focus on mortality reduction by examining, Case fatality rate and its growth, identifying localities and hospitals where deaths are high. Analysing the cause of death to improve any issues and by promptly readdressing such points.
7. All districts with high case load and fast growth of cases must ensure 100% saturation vaccination of the priority age group of 45 year and above, in the coming two weeks.