Health Ministry deploys central teams to Punjab, Chandigarh to assist in COVID management

The Union Health Ministry has deployed two Central teams to Punjab and Union Territory of Chandigarh amid the surge in COVID-19 cases and fatalities. The central teams will be stationed at both locations for 10 days, the Ministry said in an official statement.

The high-level teams will assist the State/UT in strengthening public health measures for containment, surveillance, testing and efficient clinical management of COVID-19 patients with the aim to reduce mortality and save lives, the ministry said. The teams will also guide the State/UT in effectively addressing the challenges related to timely diagnosis and follow up.

The two-member teams will comprise of a Community Medicine expert from PGIMER, Chandigarh and an epidemiologist from NCDC. "These teams shall be stationed in the State/UT for ten days to provide extended guidance in managing COVID", the official release said.

READ | With 478 fresh cases, overall tally rises to 17,032 in Puducherry

READ | August sees fastest growth of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra

COVID cases in Punjab and UT of Chandigarh

According to the health ministry, Punjab has reported a total of 60,013 cases and it has 15,731 active Cases, as of today. So far the state has registered 1739 deaths. The Testing Per Million figure for the State is 37546 (India’s average figure is 34593.1 at present). With 4.97 percent, it hovers at the lower spectrum of cumulative positivity, the ministry said. Meanwhile, the UT of Chandigarh has reported 2,095 active cases and its cumulative cases stand at 5268. Testing Per Million and cumulative positivity stand at 38054 and 11.99 percent respectively.

Centre govt actively supports states/UTs

The Centre govt is actively supporting the States/UTs that are seeing a sudden surge in the number of COVID-19 cases and those that are reporting high mortality by deputing multi-sectoral Central teams. In the past month, many such teams have visited several States/UTs. These specialised teams interact with the field authorities to get a first-hand understanding of the challenges and issues being faced by them.

Furthermore, the Union Health Ministry has been engaging with several States/UTs that are witnessing a surge in COVID cases and high mortality in some districts during the past two days. The States/UTs have been advised to proactively undertake extensive measures to break the chain of transmission of the contagious disease and lower mortality, such that it eventually dips below 1 percent.

READ | Record 3,810 new cases take Odisha's COVID-19 tally to 1,24,031; death toll mounts to 546

READ | With 478 new cases, overall coronavirus tally rises to 17,032 in Puducherry