Covid cases spike, fresh advisory issued

Amid a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases across the country, the Centre has issued fresh guidelines for the management of Covid patients in India.

India on Tuesday logged in 918 fresh coronavirus cases, with active cases rising to 6350, Union health ministry data showed.

According to the data, the death toll increased to 5,30,806 with four fatalities recorded – two from Rajasthan and one each in Karnataka and Kerala.

The active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections. The national covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.80 per cent, according to the health ministry website.

The Covid-19 National Task Force issued a fresh list of revisions in the guidelines for the management of adult Covid-19 patients amid the increasing scare of H3N2 flu, issuing a stern warning regarding antibiotics.

The Centre, in its advisory, said that antibiotics should not be used for Covid patients with other endemic infections such as H3N2, until and unless there is a clinical suspicion of a bacterial infection in the patient.

The revised guidelines by the Centre also state that drugs like lopinavir-ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), ivermectin, Molnupiravir, Favipiravir, Azithromycin and Doxycycline are not advised for Covid patients for the time being.