THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Union Ministry of Health has sent a letter to Kerala in the wake of the increasing number of Covid cases. Apart from Kerala, the Centre has sent letters to four other states. The letter says preventive measures such as masks and social distance should be strengthened. The ministry also expressed concern over the increase in weekly cases in 11 districts.

The number of cases across the country is also rising sharply. In the last 24 hours, 4041 people have been diagnosed with the disease. After a gap of about three months, the number of cases rose to more than 4,000 per day. There has been a 40 per cent increase in daily cases in recent weeks.

Kerala and Maharashtra have the highest number of cases per day. According to health experts, the increase in cases is due to the failure to follow preventive measures, including mask-wearing.

In Kerala, 1278 people tested positive for the virus yesterday. Ernakulam reported the highest number of cases-407. A Covid death was also confirmed yesterday. Covid figures were released by the government yesterday after a long hiatus.