New Delhi: Maharashtra is struggling with the highest active COVID caseload in the country with 6,41,281 cases but some of its districts including Mumbai and Nashik are showing a continued decline in cases.
At a briefing on the COVID 19 situation today, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health, Ms Arti Ahuja said, “ We are seeing a plateau in Maharashtra. Mumbai has had a very steep decline from 48,000 cases to 10,000 cases. In Nashik, we had 38,000 cases which have now come down to 25,000. Thane which had 35,000 has come down to 20,000 and Latur has come down from 11,000 to 7,000.,’’
At the same time, Solapur in Maharashtra and Faridabad in Haryana are among the 15 districts in the country which have shown a steep upward trend in the last two weeks.
The most reassuring news however is that India can escape the much dreaded third wave of Corona, according to Prof K Vijay Raghavan, the principal scientific advisor to the Centre, “ If we take strong measures, the third wave may not happen in all the place or anywhere at all. It depends much on how effectively the guidelines are implemented at the local level, States and cities- everywhere,’’ he explained at a briefing today.
Only two days back Prof Raghavan had said it is inevitable that India will see a third wave of Covid-19.
The government also allayed apprehensions about the fate of incoming foreign aid for COVID 19 and said that every consignment is reaching the target beneficiaries.
Mr Dammu Ravi, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs said that the distribution and allocation made by the Health Ministry is shared by India with foreign governments abroad so that they are fully aware of how their donation is being used by India and reaching the people.“ Let me assure you that not even one consignment has remained at airport or seaports. They have been directly loaded from the airport to the distribution locations in real time for immediate use Every consignment is tracked and it is ensured that it is properly used.”
The Health Ministry said that 1,594 PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) plants are being established across India. These will reduce dependence on oxygen cylinders.
According to a mapping by the Health Ministry, Maharashtra is on the top of 12 States which has reported more than one lakh active cases.
The Health Ministry voiced concern over the high positivity in some parts of India including Goa which has a high positivity of 48.5 %, Maharashtra has a positivity of 23.5 %. Maharashtra is among the 24 States which have a positivity rate of more than 15 per cent. Goa showed a rapid increase in number of cases but now the numbers have decreased following strict measures.
According to Health Ministry mapping, twelve States have more than one lakh cases, seven States have cases between 50,000 to one lakh and 17 States have less than 50,000 cases. Maharashtra has the maximum number of active cases at 6,41, 281. West Bengal which has just had eight phased elections figures in the first category with more than 1,22,774 cases. There are 24 States which have more than 15 per cent positivity which is a matter of concern. Other states with an increasing trend in daily new cases are Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
She said that nine States including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Telangana which are showing continued daily decrease in cases. Following strict measures, a similar pattern has been seen in Goa, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Chandigarh.
Varanasi, the Prime Minister’s constituency has shown a decline in cases from 14,000 to 9,000 cases, she said while enumerating districts across the country that have shown continued decline in cases in the last two weeks.
She urged the states and UTs to prioritise beneficiaries awaiting their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine. So far, a total 16.50 crore doses have been administered across all categories, the Health Ministry added.
