'No sign of abatement: Centre says 58% of daily Covid cases in India are from Kerala
The government also warned against dropping the guards as the festive season approaches, bringing the threat of pushing the cases northwards.
Published: 26th August 2021 07:31 PM | Last Updated: 26th August 2021 07:46 PM | A+A A-
Image used for representational purpose only. (File Photo | Kaviyoor Santhosh, EPS)
NEW DELHI: On a day India reported 46,164 fresh daily Covid cases, the highest since early July, the Union health ministry highlighted that 58% of these cases were from Kerala where the pandemic is showing no sign of abetment.
The government also warned against dropping the guards as the festive season approaches, bringing the threat of pushing the cases northwards.
In a press briefing on the Covid status in the country, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that except for Kerala, the rest of the states are still exhibiting a declining trend vis-à-vis daily coronavirus case count.
Kerala reported 31,445 Covid cases and 215 deaths in the past 24 hours and the test positivity rate has now reached over 20% in the state, signalling at the explosive rate of disease progression.
The last time the Covid cases in Kerala crossed the 30,000-mark was on May 20 when it logged 30,491 cases, pointed out Bhushan adding that the state currently has more than 1 lakh active cases -- over 51% of the total active cases in India.
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“58.4% of total Covid cases last week were reported from Kerala. It is the only state reporting over 1 lakh active cases, while four states have 10,000 to 1 lakh active cases,” Bhushan said.
Issuing a strong warning ahead of the upcoming festive season, the health secretary also cautioned that the second wave of the pandemic is not over as 41 districts in India still report more than 10% positivity while 41 are also recording over 100 daily cases every day.
"September and October are crucial in pandemic management because of several festivals,” he said.
On a positive note, the health ministry highlighted that the Covid vaccination has now reached the 60.39 crore mark, claiming that India is at a comfortable place in terms of vaccine supply.
“There is no shortage (of vaccines), in fact, we have asked states to improve the vaccination rate," said Bhushan.
