From Our Bureau
4TH MAY 2020
A total of 42,836 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the country so far and the death toll mounted to 1,389 on Monday. As many as 11,762 persons have been cured with a recovery rate of 27.5 per cent. The number of active cases in the hospitals reached 29,685, according to the latest update from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Government of India is taking several steps along with the States/Union Territories for prevention, containment and management of COVID-19 through a graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach. These are being regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, held a meeting today with Narottam Mishra, Health Minister of Madhya Pradesh, along with the senior officials from both Centre and State to review containment and management on COVID-19 in the State. Various issues regarding contact tracing, surveillance, strengthening house-to-house active case finding, awareness generation among the people regarding seeking treatment for non-COVID disease management etc., were deliberated and discussed.
Outcome ratio (Recovered vs. Death) for all closed cases, which indicates the clinical management status in the hospitals was analysed since 17th April, and it is observed that there is an improvement in the country compared to that prior to 17th April, 2020 (Outcome ratio was 80:20) while as of today it is 90:10.
It is again reiterated that States/ UTs must ensure that rigorous containment measures are taken, so that the caseload remains low. They must also ensure effective case clinical management while simultaneously focusing on infection prevention & control.
It is important that as lockdown eases, people should follow protocol and guidelines related to physical distancing, follow preventive measures like hand hygiene and environmental hygiene and deal with COVID-19 by being careful, aware and alert. They should always wear face covers/ masks in public spaces. Even outside containment zones, people should follow all guidelines issued by the government on preventive measures. They must avoid overcrowding while buying essential items or meeting in common areas.
Central
teams being deployed to districts with highest number of COVID19 cases
As many as twenty (20) Central Public Health Teams from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare have been formed and are being sent to the 20 districts that are reporting the maximum number of COVID-19 cases in the country. These districts are:
Mumbai, Pune and Thane (Maharashtra); Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara (Gujarat); Delhi (South East) and Delhi (Central) (NCT of Delhi); Indore and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Jaipur and Jodhpur (Rajasthan); Agra and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh); Kolkata (West Bengal); Chennai (Tamil Nadu); Hyderabad (Telangana); Kurnool, Guntur and Krishna (Andhra Pradesh).
These teams will support the States in implementation of containment measures for COVID-19 in the affected areas within these districts/cities. The teams will assist the State Governments. (eom)
