Lockdown eased, Covid cases have doubled in 5 states: Govt

Lockdown eased, Covid cases have doubled in 5 states: Govt

Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:27.05.2020

States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have been witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases for the past three weeks as lockdown restrictions have been eased and inter-state migration allowed, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

Confirmed cases of Covid-19 have more than doubled in these states following relaxations in lockdown norms. In UP and MP, the number has gone up from close to 3,000 on May 4 to 6,532 and 6,849, respectively, as of Tuesday morning. In Bihar, the number of cases have increased multi-fold from around 500 to over 2,700 in the same period.

On Tuesday, health secretary Preeti Sudan held a meeting with chief secretaries, health secretaries, and National Health Mission directors of these states and emphasised that each containment zone has to be analysed to check the trends and adopt course correction measures through proper formation and implementation of micro-plans.

States were asked to assess the existing health infrastructure in terms of quarantine centres, hospitals with intensive care unit, ventilator and oxygen beds, and strengthen them looking at the possible need for the next two months.

The Centre also asked these states to station Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) at quarantine centres. Sudan said temporary sub-health centres can be set up in existing buildings and additional front-line workers such as Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) teams can be utilised.

The ministry also advised states to link with health and wellness centres under the Ayushman Bharat scheme to ensure immediate health check-ups. States were also asked to roll out tele-medicine services from these centres.

DIRE SITUATION: A boy carries his brother as he walks to reach a bus to take them to their home state in Mumbai on Tuesday