India Logs Nearly 8,000 Covid Cases In A Day, Active Tally Rises To 40,215

India has registered 7,830 new cases in the last 24 hours with the active cases at 40,215.

India's active caseload has jumped to 40,215 with 7,830 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry. As the country witnessed a surge in cases, mock drills were conducted across hospitals in Delhi to tackle the surge.

The mock drill conducted on Tuesday was part of a nationwide exercise to take stock of the hospitals' preparedness to tackle the surge in Covid cases. Officials had already announced that both public and private facilities are expected to participate in the exercise conducted on April 10 and 11.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya visited the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital here on Monday to review the measures taken to combat the disease.

At Delhi government-run hospitals, the exercise was undertaken on Tuesday.

Suresh Kumar, the medical director of the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, said more cases are being reported in the city but there is no need to panic.

"Only 10 patients have been admitted to our hospital, while 440 Covid beds are vacant. The objective of the exercise is to ascertain our preparedness in terms of availability of essential medicine, equipment and staff," he said.

Talking about the recent Covid-related deaths, Kumar said only those who had severe comorbidities like tuberculosis, cancer, chronic lung diseases etc succumbed to the infection.  A senior doctor at the Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital told PTI, "The exercise was conducted to test our Covid preparedness, including the availability of beds, oxygen and other healthcare logistic requirements to deal with any eventuality in view of a rising number of COVID-19 and influenza-type cases." The hospital has 325 beds and according to instructions issued by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently, an isolation room with a set of beds has been set up at the facility, he said.

The Delhi government-run hospitals had taken part in a mock drill on March 26 as well. This was on the instructions of the city health department. Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday said a report on the March 26 mock drill was submitted to the chief minister and other authorities.

Delhi has seen an increase in the number of fresh Covid cases over the last few days, amid a sharp rise in H3N2 influenza cases in the country.