India recorded four new deaths linked to COVID-19 on Saturday, including a tragic case involving a full-term pregnant woman in Madhya Pradesh. The woman reportedly suffered seizures during childbirth and later tested positive for the virus, according to a government update.Maharashtra, which has already seen a steady rise in COVID-related fatalities in recent weeks, added another to its tally, bringing the state’s total to 18 — the highest in the country so far this year.Meanwhile, Kerala reported the death of a cancer patient who had tested positive for the virus, taking its toll to 12. The fourth death was recorded in Tamil Nadu. These latest fatalities have pushed the nationwide COVID death toll for 2025 to 59, while active cases have climbed to 5,755, signaling a slow but noticeable uptick in infections.in response, the central government has ramped up preparedness efforts. Hospitals across the country are undergoing mock drills to assess facility-level readiness. States have been directed to ensure that critical supplies — including oxygen, isolation beds, ventilators, and essential medications — are readily available.Health officials have reassured the public that most new infections are mild and can be managed at home.However, with the virus still evolving, authorities are not taking any chances.To stay ahead of the curve, a series of high-level review meetings took place on June 2 and 3.These were led by Dr. Sunita Sharma, Director General of Health Services, and included key representatives from the Disaster Management Cell, Emergency Management Response Cell, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), and central government hospitals, as well as state and union territory officials.Further tightening surveillance, officials confirmed on June 4 that district and state monitoring teams under the IDSP are keeping a close watch on influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI).As per current protocols, all hospitalized SARI patients must be tested for COVID-19, and a sample of ILI cases — approximately 5% — is also being screened. Positive samples from SARI cases are being sent for whole genome sequencing via the ICMR-VRDL network to track potential variants.