No new infection in 25 districts in last 2 weeks

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 13

Even as Covid-19 cases rose to 9,352 and the death toll reached 324, the government today drew people’s attention to 979 recoveries, stressing that not all was lost in the battle against the virus. The rate of discharge in India is 10 per cent and has improved in recent days.

Edit: Workers’ welfare

“These districts have shown that with comprehensive district containment plan and social distancing, new infections can be prevented. We hope these districts sustain their new infection-free status,” Health Ministry spokesperson Lav Agarwal said, even as Sirsa reported a new case today.

Overall, Covid-19 cases increased by 996 since Sunday. There were 51 deaths in the same period, the highest so far in a single day. Asked whether it expected the Covid graph to peak soon, the Health Ministry said, “We want the peak not to come. That is why we are stressing on social distancing, lockdown and active surveillance and contact tracing.”

While the ministry hinted at the importance of lockdown from the public health perspective, Lav Agarwal also said both “lives and livelihoods need to be protected.” That said, India is gearing up to test more and expects the cases to rise subsequently. The ICMR has so far tested 2,06, 212 samples of which 9,352 are positive. On Sunday,, 14,855 samples were tested in ICMR labs and 1,913 by private labs.

Vet institutes roped in for tests

Veterinary science and research institutes have been roped in to test human samples for Covid-19. Three institutes under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, including the National Institute of High Security Animal Disease (NIHSAD) at Bhopal and one each at Hisar and New Delhi, have been authorised to test human samples “as an emergency measure”, ICAR officials said. TNS

WILL WORK ON REMDESIVIR DRUG: ICMR

The ICMR said India was exploring the possibilities of testing the efficacy of anti-viral drug Remdesivir on Covid-19 patients. It would attempt so under the WHO Solidarity Trial. “In some observational studies, Remdesivir has helped improve oxygen levels in patients. Earlier, this drug has been found effective against ebola,” R Gangakhedkar, the ICMR chief epidemiologist, said.