The number of coronavirus cases is dropping albeit slowly in India. In the last 24 hours, India reported 43,733 new Covid-19 cases. However, in the northeastern part of the country 10 per cent positivity rate in as many as 45 districts is a cause for alarm informed the health ministry officials.
The Union Health Ministry Tuesday said 73 districts in India reported a positivity rate of over 10 per cent for the June 29-July 5 week. Sixty-one per cent of these high-positivity districts are from the Northeast states of Arunachal (Pradesh (18), Manipur (9), Meghalaya (6), Tripura (4), Sikkim (4), Nagaland (3), and Mizoram (1). In the region, Manipur (5,974) has the highest active cases followed by Meghalaya (4,354), Tripura (3,962), Mizoram (3,730), Sikkim (1,869) and Nagaland (1192).
Kerala reported 14,373 new cases, the highest in nearly a month. Maharashtra reported 8,418 cases and 400 deaths in the last 24 hours. Dr Balram Bhragava, a member of the country’s Covid-19 task force and Director General of ICMR, flagged that the Northeast will have to step up testing, keep a “close watch” on the test positivity rate at the district-level and set up micro-containment zones.
