The Center warns states that covid cases are on the rise and that they should not relax their guard

In the wake of an unexpected spike in Covid infections across the country, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has urged states to “not let their guard down” and to keep a close eye on the virus’s spread through adequate testing.

Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan warned states in a letter on Thursday that the country’s average daily cases increased to 4,207 during the week ending June 8, up from 2,663 the week before.

According to the letter, 7,240 new cases were reported in the previous 24 hours, with 81 percent of them occurring in four states: Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi, and Karnataka. According to the letter, the test positivity rate (TPR) increased to 1.12 percent during the week ending June 8 from 0.63 percent the week before. TPR, or the proportion of positive cases in all samples tested, is a good indicator of how far the infection has spread in the community.

Bhushan has urged states to ensure adequate testing for early case detection and to have a “accurate picture” of the spread of the disease. “Not only on the number of tests per million conducted, but also on the proportion of the more accurate RT-PCR tests,” he has asked them to keep an eye on.

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