COVID-19 cases cross 5000 in India, Kerala worst hit

New Delhi: As COVID-19 cases in India crossed the 5,000 mark on Friday, Kerala remains the most affected state, followed by Gujarat, West Bengal and Delhi, according to data released by the Union Health Ministry data released on Friday.

In view of the increase in cases, the Centre is conducting mock drills to check facility-level preparedness for COVID-19.

All states have been instructed to ensure the availability of oxygen, isolation beds, ventilators, and essential medicines in view of rising cases of COVID-19.

There are 5,364 active cases in India, and four fresh deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours, news agency PTI reported.

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Official sources have maintained that most cases are mild and managed under home care.

Since January this year, 55 deaths have been reported in the country. There were a total of 257 active patients in the country on May 22.

A series of technical review meetings were held on June 2 and 3 under chairpersonship of Dr Sunita Sharma, Director General of Health Services (DGHS) with representatives of Disaster Management Cell, Emergency Management Response (EMR) Cell, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and Central Government Hospitals in Delhi and with representatives from all states and UTs to evaluate the current COVID-19 situation and preparedness measures.

Official sources on June 4 said that State and District surveillance units under IDSP are closely monitoring Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI).

"Testing is recommended for all admitted SARI cases and 5 per cent of ILI cases as per guidelines, and positive SARI samples are sent for Whole Genome Sequencing through the ICMR VRDL network," an official source had said, reports PTI.

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