India's active COVID-19 cases cross 6,000 mark; Kerala worst-hit

India’s active COVID-19 caseload has surged past the 6,000-mark with 378 new infections being reported in the last 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry data released on Sunday.

Kerala leads with 1,950 active cases, followed by Gujarat (822), West Bengal (693), and Delhi (686). Karnataka reported 366 active cases, while Maharashtra recorded 595 infections.

The country has also recorded 65 COVID-related deaths so far this year, with six new deaths reported in the last 24 hours. These include three in Kerala, two in Karnataka, and one in Tamil Nadu, all with underlying co-morbidities.

In Kerala, the deceased included a 51-year-old renal transplant patient who died of respiratory failure, a 64-year-old male with multiple comorbidities including cancer and sepsis, and a 92-year-old with cardiac and renal issues.

The fatalities in Karnataka involved a 46-year-old with pulmonary hypertension and a 78-year-old with ischemic heart disease. Tamil Nadu reported the death of a 42-year-old man with uncontrolled diabetes and acute kidney disease.

Amid the rising trend, a series of technical review meetings were held on June 2 and 3 under the chairpersonship of Dr. Sunita Sharma, Director General of Health Services, to assess the COVID-19 situation and the country’s preparedness measures.

The meetings saw participation from the Disaster Management Cell, Emergency Management Response Cell, National Centre for Disease Control, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), and central hospitals, along with representatives from all states and Union Territories.

The state and district surveillance units under the IDSP are closely monitoring cases of Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI), reported PTI, citing official sources.

"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, " PTI quoted an official source as saying.