Govt says situation stabilising, but flags cases of black fungus
The overall Covid-19 situation in the country appears to be stabilising, the Union government said on Saturday, but experts also warned that secondary infections such as mucormycosis or “black fungus” were adding to the mortality rate.
Niti Aayog member Dr VK Paul said that to control the spread of the rare fungal infection, people must control their blood sugar levels, maintain
NEW DELHI:
hygiene, and doctors must prescribe steroids with caution. “Some states are reporting 400 to 500 cases; we do not know the burden of the disease yet. This is an emerging problem and ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) has started collecting data. We have also asked states to keep an eye on it,” he said.
India’s Covid-19 positivity rate – proportion of samples that return positive – dipped from 21.9% last week to 19.8%, said Union health ministry’s joint secretary Lav Agarwal during the health ministry briefing on Saturday. A dropping positivity rate is indicative of slowing of the spread of infection, but experts urged caution.
Currently, 11 states have over 100,000 active cases and eight states have 50,000 to 100,000 active cases, according to data shared by the official.