Single-day Covid cases scale another height, sprint past 4-lak mark

New Delhi: India on Friday scaled yet another height in terms of single-day Covid-19 cases with 4.12 lakh new detections and 3,980 fatalities in the last 24 hours. Rising number of infections continues to grip the population in fear which is still struggling hard to find hospital beds and oxygen to survive this second wave of pandemic. As per reports, the current wave is expected to peak by June end and thereafter there may be some respite. Dr K. Vijay Raghavan, chief scientific advisor, said on Friday that the third wave of the pandemic can be handled if stringent, necessary steps are taken on time.

Two days ago Dr Raghavan had said the third wave was “inevitable given the high levels at which this virus is circulating”. He, however, did not give a timeline of the third wave. But on Friday he clarified that the third wave may not take place everywhere in the country if sufficient precautions are taken. “The pandemic has different peaks and falls across the country. The only condition for third wave waves is the presence of a susceptible population. If we take strong measures, the third wave of Covid-19 may not happen at all places or even anywhere. It depends much on how effectively Covid guidelines are implemented at the local level, in the states, districts and in the cities everywhere,” Dr Raghavan said.

Several states and UTs have imposed strict lockdowns to break the chain of transmission. Goa on Friday announced a 15-day curfew from Sunday during which only essential services, including medical supplies, will be allowed while grocery shops will be allowed to remain open only from 7am-1pm.

The Centre has said it has so far provided more than 17.35 crore vaccine doses to states/UTs and more than 90 lakh doses are still available with states/UTs to be administered. It added over 10 lakh doses in addition will be received by the states/UTs in the next three days. 

The Centre has decided to deploy AYUSH professionals to boost availability of medical personnel to fight Covid-19. The Union health ministry said AYUSH doctors are institutionally qualified professionals, well-trained in various aspects of medical care and have proven their competence in various Covid-19 management roles in different institutions across the country. States/UTs have trained nearly 1.06 lakh AYUSH professionals in different aspects of Covid-19 management, and 28,473 professionals have been deployed for Covid-19 activities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the chief ministers of Manipur, Sikkim and Tripura on the Covid-19 situation in their states. Mr Modi had on Thursday spoken with the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Telangana besides the lieutenant governors of Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry in this regard.