India logs over 1,800 new Covid cases in 24 hours for 2nd consecutive day

India logged over 1,800 new Covid cases for second consecutive day, taking the active caseload over 10,000-mark, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Monday. Six more Covid-related deaths have been reported with total death toll at 5,30,837.

Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan will today hold a meeting with states’ health secretaries and senior officers to review Covid-19 preparedness as India continues to report a rise in coronavirus infections. Details of the nationwide mock-drill planned next month at health facilities in all districts will be communicated at the review meeting.

Both public and private health facilities are expected to participate in the exercise aimed at taking stock of availability of medicines, hospital beds, medical equipment and medical oxygen, according to a joint advisory issued by the Union Health Ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The advisory highlighted the decline in Covid testing levels as compared to the standards prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Hence it is critical to maintain optimum testing for COVID-19, equitably distributed (with suitable modifications to address emergence of new cluster of Covid cases) across the states. This is especially important to identify any emerging hotspots and take pre-emptive steps to curb virus transmission,” it stated.

On Saturday, India logged 1,890 new Covid-19 cases, the highest in 149 days, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Sunday. The daily positivity was recorded at 1.56 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 1.29 per cent.