16 worst-hit districts asked to ramp up testing, ensure ambulance for all  

The Union Health Ministry advised 16 districts in four states reporting COVID mortality above the national and state's average to ramp up testing and ensure availability of ambulances with the target of zero refusal. It will reduce case confirmation percentage in the area, the ministry has said.

The Ministry on Friday said that the higher number of COVID-19 mortality reported in these districts are a "cause of concern," as deaths due to the Coronavirus rose to 42,518 on Saturday.

The 16 districts are Ahmedabad and Surat in Gujarat; Belagavi, Bengaluru urban, Kalaburagi and Udupi in Karnataka; Chennai, Kanchipuram, Ranipet, Theni, Thiruvallur, Tiruchirappalli, Tuticorin and Virudhnagar in Tamil Nadu; and Hyderabad and Medchal–Malkajgiri in Telangana.

The Ministry also said that these districts account for 17 per cent of the total active cases. They are also reporting high number of fresh cases daily. The confirmation percentage of these districts are also relatively high as they are conducting low tests per million population, the ministry added.

The districts were advised to ensure that the advisories, guidelines and clinical treatment protocols issued by the Health Ministry be adopted and effectively implemented to reduce the mortality among Covid-19 patients and other preventable deaths among all sections of the people, particularly those with comorbidities, pregnant women, the elderly and children.

"Following the Continuum of Care approach, as sincere containment and surveillance efforts have a bearing on the case mortality, states were advised to ensure optimum capacity utilization of testing labs, increase tests per million population and reduce confirmation percentage, in addition to ensuring timely availability of ambulances with target zero refusal," the ministry said.

They were also advised to analyze availability and need for projected beds and oxygen, and plan in a timely manner. The ministry also pointed out to them that "it was critical to ensure good infection prevention and control practices to control infection among the healthcare workers".