COVID-19 fourth wave scare: Uttarakhand govt takes these measures amid rising cases

Dehradun: Amid rising COVID-19 cases in Uttarakhand, the state government has said that it has been following all guidelines related to coronavirus. Uttarakhand Health Secretary in charge and Director of the National Health Mission Dr R Rajesh Kumar told ANI,  "The guidelines of the government regarding COVID infections are in place. The government is ensuring that all the precautions like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing also take place."

The Health Secretary said that the instruction will be given further if the covid cases increase further. As far as taking dengue cases, it is also a matter of concern for the state. Adding that Kumar said this year, the dengue cases can be more prevalent here.  "We are already in contact with all the concerned departments and instructions have been given to follow all the measures," he added. 

On the Kanwar Yatra, the health secretary said that three districts of Dehradun, Haridwar and Pauri are sensitive but adequate arrangements for the medical camp have been made, adding "One of these, Haridwar is the most sensitive district, however, I myself visited the areas and checked all the measurements there."

India records 21,566 fresh COVID-19 cases, 45 more fatalities

The country on Thursday reported a single-day rise of 21,566 coronavirus cases, the highest in 152 days, taking its COVID-19 tally to 4,38,25,185, while the number of active cases in the country climbed to 1,48,881 on Thursday, according to Union health ministry data. 

The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 5,25,870 with 45 more fatalities, said the ministry's data updated at 8 am, adding that the active cases account for 0.34 per cent of the total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.46 per cent.

Of the 45 new fatalities, 17 were reported from Kerala, seven from Maharashtra, six from West Bengal, two each from Assam, Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand and one each from Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh.

An increase of 3,227 cases was recorded in the active Covid caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.25 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 4.51 per cent, according to the ministry.

According to the ministry, 200.91 crore doses of Covid vaccines have so far been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive.

Notably, India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 2020, 40 lakh on September 5, 2020 and 50 lakh on September 16, 2020.
It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 2020, 70 lakh on October 11, 2020, 80 lakh on October 29, 2020, 90 lakh on November 20, 2020 and the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore Covid cases on May 4 last year, the three-crore mark on June 23 last year and four crore cases on January 25 this year.

(With ANI/PTI Inputs)