The Centre on Friday dispatched a team of experts to six states, including Kerala. Manipur, Tripura, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Arunachal Pradesh. The two-member team of a clinician and a public health expert was sent to enforce urgent coronavirus (Covid-19) disease containment and control measures through means of testing, tracking and surveillance.
Read on to find out more about the Covid-19 situation in these 6 states.
Kerala
Leading the team in Kerala is Dr Ruchi Jain, a public health specialist at the regional offices of health and family welfare. The state registered 12,868 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, pushing the infection tally to 29.37 lakh. After testing 1,24,886 samples in the span of 24 hours, Kerala registered a positivity rate of 10.3%, the World Health Organisation suggests a positivity rate of 5% for a pandemic to be considered under control. Kerala health minister told news agency ANI that the state is conducting “targeted testing” leading to a high number of cases, she added that the state is facing a shortage of vaccine and the Centre has been apprised of the same.
Manipur
The Manipur team will be led by Dr L Swasticharan, additional DDG and director of EMR. They will monitor the Covid-19 situation and also suggest remedial measures. The state extended an ongoing curfew till July 10 in seven districts in view of the coronavirus situation there. A careful approach along with mass vaccination is required to ensure that the pandemic is controlled,” said chief secretary Dr Rajesh Kumar, who also chairs the state executive committee of the state disaster management authority.
Also Read: Centre rushes expert teams to 6 states with rising Covid case load
Tripura
The team dispatched to Tripura will be led by Dr RN Sinha of the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health. The state currently has 3,815 active Covid-19 cases, and has witnessed 680 fatalities since the pandemic started, according to the state health dashboard.
Odisha
The team sent to Odisha will be led by Dr A Dan, public health specialist at AIIH & PH. The state recorded 3,087 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, taking the cumulative tally to 912,887. As many as 45 new fatalities pushed the death toll to 4,063, as per the state health bulletin. A total of 74,000 samples were tested on Wednesday, which pushed the positivity rate to 6.59%. Odisha is also grappling with a shortage of vaccines and the state government had to halt vaccination drives in 16 districts due to a shortage of Covishield doses, reported PTI.
Chhattisgarh
The team for Chhattisgarh will be led by Dr Dibakar Sahu, assistant professor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur. The state reported 410 new Covid-19 cases, taking the infection tally to 9,94,890. Authorities have been making efforts to ramp up testing in the last few weeks.
Arunachal Pradesh
Professor at the All India Institute of Hygiene & Public Health (AIIH&PH) Sanjay Sadhukhan will lead the team to Arunachal Pradesh. The state recorded 311 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, pushing the total tally to 36,168. After testing a total of 5,130 samples the state clocked in a positivity rate of 6.06%, as per the state health bulletin.
