The nationwide tally of Covid-19 cases crossed 1.45 lakh on Tuesday with states like Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and Odisha reporting a significant rise in their numbers amid the large-scale return of migrant workers from other states.
The numbers also rose further in the worst-hit states including Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, while Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, among other states and union territories, also reported more new cases.
Indian Railways has ferried over 44 lakh migrant workers on board 3,276 ‘Shramik Special’ trains since May 1. According to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri, an additional 41,673 people had traveled to their home states via flights till 5 pm on Tuesday.
To control the fresh spike in cases created by the mass movement, several states on Tuesday announced mandatory institutional quarantine on arrival for all.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court directed the central and state government to immediately provide adequate transport arrangements, food and shelters free of cost to migrant labourers stranded across the country due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the Modi government failed in controlling Covid-19 outbreak through the nationwide lockdown. The Congress leader asked the Centre to share it’s Plan B to contain the pandemic.
Nationwide tally breaches 1.45 lakh cases
In its latest update, the ministry said the Covid-19 death toll has risen to 4,167 and the number of cases has climbed to 1,45,380 in the country, registering an increase of 146 deaths and 6,535 cases since Monday 8 AM. It put the number of active cases at more than 80,000 and recoveries at over 60,000.
The Union Health Ministry, however, said the recovery rate for COVID-19 cases in the country has seen an upwards trend and is better than many other countries, while the fatality has fallen further.
At a press briefing, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said, “The recovery rate in the country continues to improve and is presently 41.61 per cent. The COVID-19 fatality rate has reduced from 3.3 per cent on April 15 to 2.87 per cent which is among the lowest in the world.”
India is now among the ten worst-hit countries by the novel coronavirus and several experts have attributed the surge in cases to easing of travel restrictions and movement of migrants besides enhanced testing capacity.
The coronavirus death toll in Delhi itself has mounted to 288, while 412 fresh cases of COVID-19 infection were reported during the day, taking the virus tally in the city to 14,465.
In West Bengal, the tally crossed the 4,000-mark with 193 more people testing positive for the disease. Besides, at least five persons have died due to the infection in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the state to 211.
Assam also reported 47 new cases, taking its total to 595.
In Kerala, 67 new cases were reported, the highest single-day spike so far. The total Covid tally in the state has touched 963 with 415 presently under treatment and over 1.4 lakh under observation.
Tamil Nadu saw its tally of confirmed cases rising to 17,728 and the death toll to 127.
According to AIIMS Director, Randeep Guleria, the present rise in cases has been reported predominantly from hotspot areas but there is a possibility of further rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the coming few days due to increased travel.
“Those who are asymptomatic or are in a pre-symptomatic stage will pass through screening mechanisms and may reach areas where there have been minimal or less cases,” Guleria said.
He said there was a need for more intense surveillance and monitoring in areas where migrants have returned to contain the spread of the disease.
The Union health ministry suggested to the five states – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh- reporting a surge in COVID-19 cases over the last three weeks to analyse the trends in containment zones and adopt course correction measures through proper implementation of micro-plans.
Fresh spike in cases due to migrant movement
Several states have been attributing the increase in their tallies to the arrival of people from outside in special trains, being run since May 1 to ferry migrant workers to their native places, and special international flights that began on May 1 to bring back stranded Indians and expatriates from abroad. Besides, domestic flights have also begun since Monday in a phased manner.
During a review meeting on the COVID-19 situation in Odisha, which saw its tally rising to 1,517 with 79 new cases, CM Naveen Patnaik said a new strategy would be needed to deal with the pandemic.
“With flight and train services having been restored, the next 15 to 30 days will be challenging, but I am sure we will be able to handle it all in a professional manner,” he said.
More than three lakh people have returned to the state in Shramik Special trains and buses in a span of just 24 days.
Some experts flagged there is a need for more intense surveillance and monitoring in areas where migrants have returned to contain the outbreak.
Commenting on the partial resumption of rail and road transport services and migrants returning to their native places, Dr Chandrakant S Pandav, former president of the Indian Public Health Association and Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine, said the floodgates have been opened.
“This is a classic case of creating an enabling environment for coronavirus to spread like wildfire. In the coming few days, the number will rise dramatically. While it is true that lockdown cannot go on forever, the opening up should have been in a measured, calibrated and informed manner,” he said.
