India on Saturday recorded 1,590 coronavirus cases, the highest single-day infection tally in 146 days, reported India Today.
With this, the number of active Covid-19 infections in the country rose to 8,601, showed data from the Union health ministry. The coronavirus cases tally stood at 4.47 lakh, according to government data.
Six new deaths were recorded on Saturday, taking the fatality count to 5,30,824. Three deaths were reported from Maharashtra and one each from Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
India has been witnessing an increase in coronavirus cases for the past few days, raising concern for health department officials.
Amid the rise, the health ministry on Saturday said that Covid-19 testing declined in some states warned when they are registering an increase in coronavirus cases since mid-Febraury, reported The Hindu.
The level of testing did not meet the standards prescribed by the World Health Organization of 140 tests/million.
In its advisory, the ministry said that some states were heavily relying on the less sensitive rapid antigen tests.
“It is critical to maintain optimum testing for Covid-19 to identify any emerging hotspots and take pre-emptive steps to curb virus transmission,’’ the advisory said.
Most of the Covid-19 cases in the country were largely being reported by Kerala (26.4%), Maharashtra (21.7%), Gujarat (13.9%), Karnataka (8.6%) and Tamil Nadu (6.3%), according to the ministry,
The ministry has directed the states to take stock of hospital preparedness including drugs, beds medical equipment, medical oxygen as well as vaccination coverage.
Meanwhile, the Centre is planning to conduct a nationwide mock drill on April 1O and 11 in which all health facilities from all districts are expected to participate.
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