Declining trend continues in J&K; 1,982 infections reported in 24 hrs
STATE TIMES NEWS
New Delhi/JAMMU: The pandemic situation has improved and even though there are states and districts of concern, overall there is a contraction in the spread of COVID-19, the government said on Thursday.
The officials added in Jammu that the declining trend in daily Covid cases continues in Jammu and Kashmir with 1,982 infections being reported on during the past 24 hours.
The Union Territory also reported seven deaths during this period which pushed the toll to 4,699, they said.
Of the fresh Covid cases, 694 were reported from the Jammu division and 1,288 from the Kashmir division, the officials said, adding the overall tally of cases has climbed to 4,42,462.
They said Srinagar district recorded the highest of 413 cases, followed by 310 cases in Jammu district on Thursday.
There are 26,711 active cases in the union territory, while the number of recovered patients was 4,11,052, the officials said.
However, the COVID-19 death toll in Ladakh climbed to 226 following one more fatality in Leh, while 214 fresh cases pushed the infection tally to 26,400, officials said.
The number of active cases in Ladakh stands at 1,140 which includes 698 cases in Leh district and 442 cases in Kargil, they said.
The Union Territory has recorded 226 Covid-related deaths — 167 in Leh and 59 in Kargil — since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, they said.
As many as 177 patients were cured and discharged from hospitals in Ladakh. Of these, 131 were discharged in Leh and 46 in Kargil, they said.
The overall recoveries has reached 25,035, officials said.
Of the total 214 fresh cases, 106 were reported from Leh and 108 from Kargil district, they said.
A total of 1,023 sample reports in Ladakh were found negative, they said.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said 34 states and union territories, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat, are recording a decline in new cases and positivity on a week-on-week basis, while Kerala and Mizoram still remain two states of concern.
Agarwal said there has been a consistent decline in daily COVID-19 cases, daily active cases and the daily positivity rate, indicating a decreased spread of the infection.
A decline in COVID-19 case fatality rate has been noted with an increase in administration of vaccine doses, he stated. Daily Covid cases declined by over 50 per cent between January 21 and February 3 (from 3,47,254 to 1,72,433), and during the same period, the daily positivity rate reduced from 17.94 per cent to 10.99 per cent, indicating a decreased spread of the infection.
India reported a peak of 3,47,254 cases on January 21, which is less than the previous peak of 4,14,188 on May 7. Also, for the last 14 days, a consistent decline in cases has been reported in India. A substantial decline in active cases — patients who are either on home isolation or hospitalised — is being noted in last around 12 days, Agarwal said.
The number of districts with positivity rate more than 10 per cent has reduced from 406 (January 20-26, 2022) to 297 (January 27 February 2), and currently, there are 169 districts with a positivity rate between five and 10 per cent.
Also there are 268 districts with positivity rate less than five per cent.
“The pandemic situation has improved. There are states and districts of concern, but overall there is a contraction in the spread of infection which is heartening. There are 268 districts where the positivity is below five per cent. And clearly, these districts can move in the direction of non COVID care and also in the direction of other economic activities as well as school opening etc,” NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul said.
“This declining trend of pandemic allows us to think about those options in general as well,” he said, adding the two states of concern are Kerala and Mizoram in particular with high positivity rate.
He stressed that the virus has not gone away as yet and urged people to be vigilant and careful.
“We have to be following strategies to contain, to address this pandemic. So it’s a mixed picture but overall, we do see a decline in the step in the spread of the infection,” he said.
Paul further said that there is clear evidence that vaccination has been protecting people. Vaccination has been ensuring low prevalence of severe disease, protection against mortality, he said.
Providing an update on Covid vaccination, Agarwal said 96 per cent of India’s adults have been administered the first dose of the vaccine, while 76 per cent are fully vaccinated.
He said 65 per cent of adolescents in the 15-18 age group have received their first dose of Covid vaccine and 21.63 lakh eligible adolescents have been given the second dose.
Also, 1.35 crore precaution doses have been administered to healthcare workers, frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with co-morbidities.
In 16 states and union territories, 100 per cent of the eligible population has been covered with first dose, while in four, 96 to 99 per cent have been administered the first dose.
In six states and UTs, 100 per cent population has been covered with the second dose, Agarwal said.
On more deaths being reported in Kerala, Agarwal said it is a matter of concern and discussions have been held with the state on the matter.
From October last year till February, 24,700 deaths have been shown as backlog deaths by Kerala. If backlog deaths come on a continued basis then it becomes difficult to understand how the case management was and what more needs to be done, he said.
“Guidance has been given to states. So this may come up as a challenge that if these deaths were reported back then, maybe if we made additional efforts then they could have been managed, and we are in talks with the state on the matter and told them that deaths must be immediately reported,” Agarwal said.
On vaccination of those in the 12-15 age group, Paul said, “Clearly as our vaccine strategy with time is evolving, so our agenda has been that children can get vaccinated. Trials are being conducted of vaccines on peadiatric population. The vaccination programme is carried out in systematic way. It is constantly being viewed how the vaccination programme can be expanded towards the younger age group but it has to be done at a time when other higher priority objectives have been achieved.”
On whether the peak has passed, Agarwal said, “We have shown you that in the past 14 days, we are noting a consistent decline but still there are states and pockets reporting more cases. Hence we must keep our focus on principles of covid management.” On Zydus Cadila supplying to India, Agarwal said seven states have been prioritised and it will soon reach in Bihar, and it will be watched, and as delivery is made in market accordingly, its use will start.
On the plan for expansion of the precaution dose, Paul said, “Vaccination implementation is prioritised, and right now, we are trying to accomplish the assigned group.”