Nearly one in five districts in India is a hotspot, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday, a day that saw at least 1,036 COVID-19 infections.
The government said it had classified every district into a hotspot, potential hotspot or a green zone. Of India’s 736 districts, 170 were ‘hotspots’, defined as places with at least 15 confirmed infections or where there was an exponential rise in cases. There were 207 ‘potential hotspots,’ Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said at the daily media briefing.
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There were 11,439 confirmed cases and 377 deaths. A total of 1,306 people have been been discharged after recovery.
Details of these districts were not shared but in all of these places — potential or not — testing would be ramped up to include checking even those who displayed ‘influenza-like illnesses’ and breathlessness.
According to reports from the State Health Departments, the total number of cases rose to 12,380, of which 10,568 were active ones. While 422 people have died of the disease, 1,392 have recovered.
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Special teams had been set up to trace all contacts and to conduct house-to-house surveys. These teams will include health staff, local revenue staff