PM Modi to call high-level meeting as Covid cases surge

New Delhi: After a surge has been detected in fresh Covid-19 cases in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to call a high-level meeting to review the situation and public health preparedness on Wednesday, PTI reported.

On Wednesday, India recorded 1,134 fresh cases, and the active case pool reached 7,0246, the last update by the Union Health Ministry data suggested.

The cumulative death count has reached 5,30,813 after adding five more deaths on Wednesday. Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra added one death each, while Kerala reconciled one death too.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.09 per cent, while the weekly rate was 0.98 per cent.

On Monday, India registered a single-day raise of 918 cases, and the total cases on the day alone were 1070. The last time India registered over 1,000 Covid cases was on November 6, 2022. The average daily cases have increased.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday issued the revised guidelines in view of the rising number of cases.

"Antibiotics should not be used unless there is clinical suspicion of bacterial infection. The possibility of coinfection of COVID-19 with other endemic infections must be considered. Systemic corticosteroids are not indicated in mild disease," the revised guidelines said.

The Centre has advised Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to follow a five-fold strategy of test, track, treat and vaccinations as these states witness a rise in Covid-19 cases.

The Covid-19 pandemic could settle down this year to a point where it poses a threat similar to the flu, the World Health Organisation said recently. "I think we're coming to that point where we can look at Covid-19 in the same way we look at seasonal influenza," WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told a press conference. "A threat to health, a virus that will continue to kill. But a virus that is not disrupting our society or disrupting our hospital systems."