Coronavirus Cases, India: Vaccinate Frontline Staff Quickly: Centre To States Reporting Covid Surge

India has vaccinated around 1.19 crore people so far (File)

The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday wrote to five states that have reported a daily surge in new coronavirus cases and asked them to expedite vaccination of healthcare staff and frontline workers in districts that have recorded the biggest spikes in fresh infections.

"... confer immunity in shortest possible time frame to healthcare and frontline workers, as they are also involved in containment, surveillance and management of COVID-19 cases," said the letter that was sent to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, J&K and Chhattisgarh.

In Maharashtra (the worst-affected state), vaccinations are to be fast-tracked in six districts - Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai (and suburban areas), Amravati, Thane and Akola. Overall Maharashtra reported over 6,000 new cases in the past 24 hours, news agency PTI reported.

In Madhya Pradesh, Indore, Bhopal and Betul districts have been identified.

In Punjab these are SBS Nagar, Kapurthala and Sri Muktsar Sahib.