Several States Bring Back Mask Mandate As COVID Cases Spike: 10 Points

India witnessed a growing number of COVID-19 cases in the past few weeks as several states including Haryana and Kerala brought mask mandate.

New Delhi: India saw a growing number of COVID-19 cases in the past few weeks as several states announced mask mandate to contain the spread of the infection. Amid rising COVID cases across the country, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a video conference with state health ministers to learn about their efforts and onground situation.

India’s COVID cases surge | Top developments

1. Haryana made wearing face masks mandatory in public places as the state reported an upward trend in COVID cases. Haryana’s health department said this was decided as a precautionary measure against another possible outbreak of COVID-19.
2. Kerala brought back mask mandate as the state health department said 1,801 new COVID cases were reported on Saturday. According to an official statement from the Health minister’s office, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam districts have the highest number of coronavirus cases.
3. The Puducherry government on Friday issued an advisory and made face masks mandatory for people in public places. Puducherry Chief Minister Natesan Krishnasamy Rangasamy, while taking part in the Covid-19 review meeting held by Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday, said the spread of Covid-19 in Puducherry is under control.
4. The Uttar Pradesh government made COVID tests mandatory for all passengers arriving from abroad as cases are once again on the rise in the state. The state government has also given instructions to perform genome sequencing on the samples which tested positive for the virus.
5. Delhi has witnessed a spurt in the number of fresh Covid infections over the last few days amid a sharp rise in H3N2 influenza cases in the country. Hospitals, polyclinics and dispensaries in Delhi have been instructed by health department authorities to scale up testing. Delhi logged 535 fresh COVID cases on Saturday with a positivity rate of 23.05 per cent, according to data shared by the city government’s health department.
6. Maharashtra recorded 542 new cases and one death on Saturday, the state health department said. The recovery rate in the state stands at 98.12 per cent and the case fatality rate in the state is 1.82 per cent.
7. Gurugram’s Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav has issued showcause notices to 17 hospitals that did not send representatives to a meeting of the District Task Force amid surge in COVID cases. Additional Deputy Commissioner Vishram Kumar Meena said Yadav on Thursday chaired a meeting of the task force called by the Health department. During the meeting, discussions were held on the spurt in Covid and influenza cases in the district, the conduct of mock drills, measles and rubella eradication, and dengue and malaria, Meena said.
8. Coronavirus pandemic is completely under control in Andhra Pradesh with only 267 people exhibiting symptoms out of the total 15,096 people screened, state Health Minister Vidadala Rajini said.
9. The Indian Council of Medical Research has said the rise in the number of influenza cases is due to the Influenza A sub-type H3N2. The H3N2 virus is leading to more hospitalisation than the other subtypes. The symptoms include a runny nose, persistent cough and fever.
10. A nationwide COVID mock drill is set to be carried out across states and union territories on April 10 and April 11 as the country reported a surge in cases over the past few weeks. COVID mock drill is basically a trial run conducted to check how health department and staff manages an emergency using the available resources and hospital protocols to avert any chaotic situation.