As India witnesses an uptick in coronavirus cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a high-level meeting to review the situation of Covid-19 in the country and also take stock of the public health preparedness.
Earlier on Sunday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's Covid-19 National Task Force issued revised guidelines for the management of adult Covid-19 patients. Issuing revised guidelines for treatment of Covid cases, the Centre advised doctors not to use convalescent plasma therapy.
Drugs such as Lopinavir-ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, Molnupiravir, Favipiravir, Azithromycin and Doxycycline also should not be used for the treatment of adult Covid-19 patients, the Health Ministry guidelines said. The Health Ministry said Remdesivir may be considered for up to five days (200 mg IV on Day 1 followed by 100 mg IV OD for the next 4 days) in moderate or severe diseases at high risk of progression.
The Centre said antibiotics should not be used for treating adult coronavirus patients unless there is clinical suspicion of bacterial infection. Issuing revised guidelines for treatment of Covid cases, the Centre advised doctors not to use convalescent plasma therapy. The Centre also advised people to seek immediate medical attention if there is difficulty breathing, high-grade fever or severe cough, particularly if lasting for more than five days.
The fresh guidelines were issued as Covid-19 cases in India touched the 1000 mark on Sunday after 129 days. India has recorded 1,134 new coronavirus cases, while the active cases increased to 7,026, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.
The death toll climbed to 5,30,813 with five deaths. One death each has been reported by Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra while one fatality was reported by Kerala, according to the data. The daily positivity was recorded at 1.09 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.98 per cent.
Last week, the Health Ministry wrote to the governments of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka following a rise in cases in the states and asked them to strictly follow a strategy of test, track, treat and vaccination.