Kerala, Mumbai, Delhi see Covid surge, Hospitals told to be ready

After months of lull, Covid-19 seems to be making a slow return across urban centres in India, prompting states and UTs like Delhi, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh to put hospitals on alert.

Delhi, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka have all reported fresh cases this month. In fact, the national capital has reported coronavirus cases (23) for the first time in three years, a news agency reported.

However, most of the cases are mild and not associated with severity. No deaths have been reported so far.

The surge in Covid cases in South Asia is likely being driven by the spread of the JN.1 variant (a sub-variant of Omicron). Experts said while the variant is quite "active", it has not been classified as a "variant of concern" yet by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The symptoms are usually mild and those infected recover within four days. Some common symptoms include fever, runny nose, sore throat, headaches, fatigue, exhaustion.

Delhi has registered 23 coronavirus cases, prompting the BJP government to direct hospitals to maintain the availability of beds, oxygen cylinders, testing kits, and vaccines.  Delhi-NCR cities like Noida and Ghaziabad have also registered coronavirus cases. On Saturday, Noida reported the first Covid patient (55) in the ongoing wave. Ghaziabad has also reported four cases so far.

Kerala, with 273 Covid infections in May, has reported the maximum number of cases, prompting the Health Minister to direct all districts to increase surveillance. Neighbouring Karnataka has also witnessed a slight uptick in Covid cases, registering 35 infections. Among them is a nine-month-old baby from Hoskote.  Mumbai has reported 95 cases so far in May, accounting for most of Maharashtra's total Covid infections. In Maharashtra's Thane, as many as 10 cases of Covid have been detected over the last three days. 

With more tests being conducted, Uttarakhand’s state health department sounded a high alert in many districts, intensifying preventive measures in line with central government guidelines.