Restrictions in place, slight fall in India's daily Covid caseload

Rising weekly positivity rate remains a concern, may point to cases going undetected

India’s daily caseload saw a slight decline of around 6.5 per cent to 168,063 new cases on Tuesday with various curbs imposed across states kicking in and keeping public movement in check. However, the rising weekly positivity rate is a cause of concern, as it could indicate that a large number of cases may be going undetected. 

The weekly positivity rate has increased to 8.85 per cent compared to 7.92 per cent yesterday. A total of 277 deaths were recorded as of Tuesday morning, of which 166 were reported in Kerala. 

Meanwhile, over 1.8 million precaution doses have been given so far, since the third-dose drive was launched on Monday in the country, according to provisional data available on CoWIN. Over 900,000 healthcare and 481,000 frontline workers have got their third dose. 

In the 60-plus age group, more than 470,000 people have taken their precaution dose. And over 28 million adolescents have got their first dose till Tuesday.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had a meeting with 120 health experts from across the country over the evolving situation of Covid-19. “Listened to their suggestions and gave related instructions. I believe that we will all work together as a link to fight against Corona,” Mandaviya said in a tweet. 

Mumbai: Home-testing & actual numbers

Mumbai saw a big dip in daily cases from around 20,000 a day four days ago to over 11,000 on Tuesday, but so did the testing. In the last three days, the testing numbers have come down in Mumbai after touching a peak of 72,442 tests on Friday. 

Doctors who are treating patients feel that the actual numbers in the city may be two to three times higher.

“Actual numbers could be higher because many people are testing themselves on home-test kits. Over 500,000 home test kits were sold in Mumbai in January, and many cases may have not been reported. The actual daily case numbers may be higher as a result of this than the reported numbers,” said a civic body official who asked not to be named. 

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Iqbal Chahal said that Mumbai's positivity rate had come down from 30 per cent to 20 per cent in the last two days. “Around 80 per cent of hospital beds are vacant. About 851 hospital beds were occupied today in one day but 966 beds also got vacated today,” he said. The city has reported 46 Covid deaths in 22 days of the third wave, averaging two deaths per day. 

Delhi: No lockdown, WFH for private offices

Delhi, which saw a 10 per cent rise in fresh cases on Tuesday, recording 21,259 infections and 23 deaths, has directed all private offices to implement work-from-home to tackle the surge. Only offices considered essential services would be exempted from the latest rule. “We will not impose a lockdown; the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) government is fully prepared to deal with any situation posed by Corona,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said. He said that the state government can prepare 10,000-11,000 ICU beds as the situation demands and is fully prepared to add 37,000 normal beds, too. 

Out of 136 Covid patients admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, only six had come for Covid treatment. The remaining 130 came for treatment of other diseases and were found to be Covid-infected during the tests, a Delhi government statement said. 

“People came mostly for Covid treatment during the April wave, but the number of such people this time is very low,” Kejriwal said, while adding that the state government will remove the restrictions as soon as possible and try to impose the bare minimum of curbs. 

Karnataka: Covid and controversy

Test positivity rate in Karnataka crossed 10 per cent as the number of new cases rose to 14,500 on Tuesday. Bengaluru remained a Covid hotspot, and recorded 10,800 cases during the day. 

A political controversy related to Covid also erupted in the state after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights sent a letter to the Karnataka police department to initiate action against state Congress President D K Shivakumar for failing to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour with schoolchildren during the “Mekedatu Padayatra”.

The Mekedatu Padayatra is a 10-day march demanding the implementation of a reservoir project on the Cauvery river in the state. The Congress started the padayatra on Sunday despite the state government’s Covid restrictions.