Center notifies six states of a small increase in COVID

In a letter sent on Thursday, the Union health ministry requested that the six states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka—which it claimed have reported a slight increase in Covid-19 cases—follow a risk assessment-based approach to infection prevention and containment.

The ministry hypothesized that the rise in cases may be due to a localized transmission of the SARS-COV-2 virus.

"There are a few states which are reporting greater numbers of cases suggesting probable localised spread of illness, and there is a need to pursue a risk assessment based strategy to avoid and limit the infection," stated Union health secretary, Rajesh Bhushan, in a letter to these states.

Government statistics show that there has been a slight increase in daily cases in certain areas of the nation, with 3,264 new infections recorded for the week ending March 15 as opposed to 2,082 cases for the week ending March 8. Indeed, the country's overall case trend is still among the lowest it has been since the epidemic began more than three years ago.

Yet viral influenza instances have increased nationwide, and the symptoms are identical to those of COVID-19, including a sore throat, fever, body aches, and exhaustion.