Covid: 5%-10% of active cases needed hospitalisation so far, says govt

The situation is dynamic and evolving, the need for hospitalisation may change rapidly, says govt

Five to 10 per cent of the active Covid cases this time so far needed hospitalisation but the situation is dynamic and may change rapidly, the Centre said on Monday and asked states to keep a watch on cases under home isolation and in hospitals.

During the second surge of Covid infections in the country, the percentage of active cases that needed hospital care were in the range of 20-23 per cent, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in a letter to states and Union territories.

The rise in COVID-19 cases in various parts of the country appears to be driven by the Omicron variant as well as by the continued presence of Delta, he said and stressed on augmenting human resources, particularly healthcare workers, for Covid management.

"In the present surge, five to 10 per cent of active cases needed hospitalisation so far. The situation is dynamic and evolving. Therefore, the need for hospitalisation may also change rapidly," Bhushan said.

India saw a single-day rise of 179,723 coronavirus infections taking the total tally to 3,57,07,727, including 4,033 cases of the Omicron variant reported across 27 states and union territories so far, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Monday.

The number of active cases has increased to 723,619, the highest in around 204 days, while the death toll has climbed to 4,83,936 with 146 fatalities.

Of the total 4,033 cases of Omicron variant, 1,552 have recovered or migrated.

Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of 1,216 Omicron cases, followed by Rajasthan 529, Delhi 513, Karnataka 441, Kerala 333 and Gujarat 236.