PMO blames people's lax attitude as daily Covid-19 cases cross 93,000

As of date, Maharashtra has contributed 57% of total cases and 47% of deaths in the past two weeks

People’s lax attitude towards wearing masks and maintaining social distancing, coupled with pandemic fatigue and poor implementation of containment measures led to the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in the second wave, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Sunday, asking the states to improve behavioural compliance and reduce mortality.

At a high-level review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Centre has decided to send specialised teams of public health specialists and clinicians to Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh to probe unusually high case load and death toll.

With India reporting more than 93,000 new cases and 500 plus Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, the PMO in a statement noted that 10 states are contributing to more than 90 per cent of cases and deaths. Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh are the three states of serious concern.

As of date, Maharashtra has contributed 57 per cent of total cases and 47 per cent of deaths in the past two weeks. The number of daily new cases has crossed 50,000 mark which is more than double the earlier peak recorded in Maharashtra last year.

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Punjab, on the other hand, contributed 4.5 per cent of the total number of cases in the past 14 days but accounted for 16.3 per cent of the number of deaths, which is a matter of serious concern.

Similarly, though Chhattisgarh has contributed 4.3 per cent of total cases in the country over the past 14 days, its contribution in total death has exceeded 7 per cent during the same period. Particularly worrying is the situation in the Durg district, which announced a lockdown earlier this week because of a rising number of cases.

In another worrying trend, the Covid-19 doubling time dropped from 504 days on March 1 to 139 days on March 31 and further dropped to 115 days on April 4.

Modi asked the states to avoid mortality by augmenting healthcare infrastructure and improving the availability of oxygen and ventilators.

Moreover, the states would have to ensure that clinical management protocols are followed across all hospitals as well as for those in-home care.

A special week-long campaign for Covid appropriate behaviour would be launched on April 6 with emphasis on 100 per cent mask usage, personal hygiene and sanitation at public places.