Ahead of the Holi festival, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has written to all the states and Union Territories to take necessary measures to control the spread of novel coronavirus.
In a directive issued today, Bhalla stated, "The country is passing through a critical juncture, as the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths have been on the rise in states and UTs in the recent past. After assessing the situation, guidelines for effective control of Covid-19 have been issued by MHA on March 20, wherein it has been emphasised that states/UTs should strictly enforce 'test-track-treat protocol, Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and prescribed SOPs on various activities, such as the opening of schools, higher education institutions, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls multiplexes ... etc. Further state and UTs based on their assessments, may impose local restrictions..."
The directive also said, "In view of upcoming festivals, Holi, Shab-e-Barat, harvesting festival, Easter ..., state government and UT authorities should take necessary measures to regulate crowd during these festivals by the observance of Covid appropriate behaviour ..."
India on Friday saw 59,118 new coronavirus infections in a day, the highest single-day rise so far this year, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,18,46,652. The active caseload breached the 4 lakh-mark again after around three-and-half months, the Union Health Ministry said.
Registering an increase for the 16th day in a row, the active cases have increased to 4,21,066 comprising 3.55% of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 95.09%, the data stated.
The 59,118 new infections reported in a span of 24 hours were the highest since October 18, 2020. The death toll increased to 1,60,949 with 257 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Five states -- Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat -- have registered a sharp rise in daily COVID-19 cases, the Union Health Ministry further said.
After touching its lowest mark in mid-February, India's active COVID-19 caseload is on a steady rise and has breached the 4-lakh mark again after around three-and-half months.
"Three states -- Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab -- together account for 73.64% of the total active cases in the country," the health ministry said.
As for daily COVID-19 cases, Maharashtra reported the highest 35,952 infections in a day, followed by 2,661 in Punjab and 2,523 in Karnataka. According to the ministry, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Gujarat collectively account for 80% of the new COVID-19 cases.
(With inputs from agencies)
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