The Union Health Ministry said that it will send teams to 10 states “which are either reporting an increasing number of Omicron and Covid-19 cases or has a slow vaccination pace”. According to the order issued by the ministry yesterday, these states are Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Mizoram, Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand and Punjab. Also on the list are Punjab and Uttar Pradesh — both are due to hold elections in two months’ time.

The Union Health Ministry said that it will send teams to 10 states “which are either reporting an increasing number of Omicron and Covid-19 cases or has a slow vaccination pace”. According to the order issued by the ministry yesterday, these states are Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Mizoram, Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand and Punjab. Also on the list are Punjab and Uttar Pradesh — both are due to hold elections in two months’ time.