Impose lockdown to check Covid

New Delhi: After understanding that 46 districts across 10 States are reporting more than 10 per cent positivity rate, the Central government on Saturday urged those States to impose lockdown-like restrictions in these areas.

Highlighting that 46 districts are showing 10 per cent positivity rate while 53 others are showing positivity between 5 and 10 per cent, the Centre has urged the States to ramp up their testing for detection of Covid-19.

"All districts reporting positivity rate of more than 10 per cent in the last few weeks need to consider strict restrictions to prevent/curtail the movement of people, formation of crowds and intermingling of people to prevent the spread of infection," the Union Health Ministry said. In a statement, the Health Ministry said it was forcefully underlined that any laxity at this stage will result in the deterioration of the situation in these districts.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan chaired a high-level meeting on Saturday to review the Covid-19 situation in Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Manipur.

The public health measures taken for surveillance, containment and management of Covid-19 by the health authorities in these states were also reviewed. These states are either reporting a rise in daily Covid cases or a rise in positivity.