Focus on 5 states, super spreading events, as pandemic decline continues: Govt

50% daily new cases, 58 pc daily new deaths in five states each

New Delhi: Even as India on Tuesday registered a three-month low in daily new COVID cases at 36,479, the government said there was no cause for complacency considering several other nations in Europe and the US are experiencing worse second waves than the first one.

“We are fortunate that we are witnessing a decline except in few states, this is more worthy as other nations continue to see severe second peaks, but we have to work harder to protect the gains,” said Member Health NITI Aayog VK Paul today.

The recoveries have crossed 72 lakh even as cases hover over 79 lakh with the last 10 lakh recoveries registered in 13 days as against the first ten lakh recoveries which took 57 days.

The pandemic is now concentrated in few states with 58 per cent of the daily 615 deaths today recorded in Maharashtra, Bengal, Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.

Nearly 49.4 per cent new cases as of today were seen in Kerala, Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi.

Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the Centre will this week hold meetings with the five states witnessing rise in daily COVID graph.

Of the 6,25,857 active COVID cases in India today, 21.52 pc are in Maharashtra alone followed by Kerala, Karnataka, Bengal, and Tamil Nadu.

Out of total deaths so far, 86 per cent have been in 10 states, including Maharashtra, which has 36.27 pc of all deaths.

The government today said going forward the containment strategy would focus on super spreading events with the positive persons being isolated and their direct contacts being quarantined to break the chain of transmission.

“Anyone who came in contact with a positive case in the last five days of the person testing positive must quarantine. We will know in 10 to 12 days whether we acted responsibly at the onset of festive season although it appears that we did,” said Paul, adding that the national task force on COVID vaccine was still working out the modalities for delivery of vaccine to priority groups as and when the vaccine is ready.

Responding to comments by some states about free vaccines to all, Paul said, “We have urged states to take a national approach while decoding their priority groups for vaccination. Resources will not be a problem in terms of delivery of vaccine to priority groups.”