The Central government has rushed high-level multidisciplinary teams to Chhattisgarh and Chandigarh to assess the reason behind the surge in coronavirus infections and to recommend them requisite control measures.
The teams, comprising of experts from National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), AIIMS, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, and Delhi's RML Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital, will visit most affected areas to take stock of the situation.
Central teams to assess situation, recommend measures
"These teams shall work with the respective State and UT governments to ascertain the reason/s for surge, assist in undertaking gap analysis and recommend requisite COVID-19 control and containment measures," the Union Health Ministry said in a statement.
The Health Ministry said that the teams will "share the key findings, recommendations and remedial measures to be taken up with the Chief Secretary/Chief Administrator".
The Central teams will interact with state and UT authorities and get a first hand understanding of the challenges faced by the authorities in dealing with the situation. The reports of Central teams will be shared with the states for further follow up action.
Surging coronavirus cases
Chhattisgarh reported 2,665 new cases of COVID-19 and 22 deaths on Friday, according to the State Health Department. There are 15,307 patients in home isolation and undergoing treatment in hospitals.
Union Territory of Chandigarh witnessed 248 new infections on Friday, taking number of active cases to 2,392.
In what is being touted as the "second wave" of the coronavirus infections, the country is witnessing over 35,000 cases for the last several days, primarily due to high case load in Maharashtra and some other states.
On Saturday, India reported over 62,000 cases, sharpest surge in over 5 months to take the total active cases to 1.19 crores.
Several states have clamped down night curfews and weekly lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus. On Friday, Maharashtra announced night curfew from March 28.
The Central government has written to states and union territories, urging them to ensure that people used face masks when outdoors, practiced social distancing and followed all required measures.
On the front of vaccination, nearly 15 lakhs people received the vaccines on Friday, taking total vaccinations to more than 5.69 crores in the country.
