Infographic: A look at India's Covid numbers in March 2023 amid Centre's new health advisory

Amid flu season, India is witnessing an uptick in Covid-19 cases.

On Sunday, India saw a single-day rise of over 1,000 fresh Covid-19 cases after 129 days. On Monday, the country logged a single-day rise of 918 cases while the active caseload increased to 6,350.

The daily count of Covid cases has more than tripled since March 1 when the state had logged 240 cases. The first few days of March saw the number fluctuate briefly and then spike to 440 cases on March 10.

The next ten days saw a further spike. The highest tally this month so far was recorded on March 19 at 1071, as per Union health ministry data.

Meanwhile, the country's Covid-19 death toll has increased to 5,30,806, with four latest fatalities -- two reported by Rajasthan, one by Karnataka and one death reconciled by Kerala.

The daily positivity was recorded at 2.08 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.86 per cent. The infection tally stands at 4.46 crore (4,46,96,338).

Read | Antibiotics shouldn't be used in Covid unless suspicion of bacterial infection: Centre's guideline

On Sunday, the Health Ministry had released revised guidelines for the treatment of adult coronavirus patients issued by the Centre. Accordingly, antibiotics should not be used in Covid cases unless there is clinical suspicion of bacterial infection. The guidelines also noted that drugs such as Lopinavir-ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, Molnupiravir, Favipiravir, Azithromycin and Doxycycline should not be used for the treatment of adult Covid-19 patients in India.

The Centre had last week issued an advisory to six states cautioning them over rising Covid cases.

The Union health and family welfare ministry had written letters to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka to follow a five-fold strategy of test, track, treat and vaccinations.

It also directed the states to examine the situation at micro level (districts and sub-districts) and keep focus on implementation of necessary measures for prompt and effective management.