On Friday, the Centre warned eight states, including Haryana, not to get complacent in pandemic control, noting that COVID was not yet finished.

The Union health secretary, Mr. Rajesh Bhushan, noted in a letter sent to the states of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnataka, Haryana, and Delhi that they were seeing a higher-than-usual positivity rate. Mr. Bhushan asked the high-burden states to increase surveillance in all districts, monitor influenza sickness trends, guarantee hospital preparedness, and identify infection hotspots.

At present, Haryana has the third highest COVID-positive rate (19.28%) in India, preceded by Delhi (29.65%) and Kerala (28.25%). Districts with the highest COVID positivity rate in Haryana are Yamunanagar (56.50%), Rewari (29.10%), Gurugram (28.40%), Faridabad (25.80), and Sonepat (24.10%). The WHO guideline states that any positive result greater than 5% must be aggressively handled.

In his letter, Mr. Bhushan stated that India has seen a constant increase in cases since March, with 10,262 cases recorded in the week ending April 20. He noted that the positivity rate has increased to 5.5% from 4.7% in the previous week, i.e., between April 17 and April 21, 2023.

The average number of cases in Haryana increased from 21 between March 17 and March 23, 2023, to 910 between April 14 and April 20, 2023. He also advised the eight states to send more samples for genome testing and maintain a high level of testing, apart from ensuring precautionary doses for those eligible. 

(Source: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/health/rise-in-covid-cases-centre-asks-states-to-keep-strict-vigil-take-pre-emptive-action-in-any-area-of-concern-499613 )