New Delhi, Apr 18 (IANS): The Union Health Ministry on Monday wrote a letter to the Kerala government for not updating the Covid data on daily basis.

The health ministry has requested Kerala government for daily updation of required details undertaken by the states in the letter to the Kerala Principal Secretary Health Dr Rajan N. Khobragade.

"It has been observed that Kerala has reported its Covid-19 state level data after a gap of 5 days since April 13," reads the letter.

This has impacted and skewed the status of India's key monitoring indicators like cases, deaths, and positivity. India has reported a 90 per cent increase in new cases, and 165 per cent increase in positivity in a single day, adds the letter further.

The daily and diligent reporting of data is critical to arrive at a meaningful understanding of pandemic in the districts, state and national level and ensure that any anomalies, surge or emerging trends can be captured in a timely manner, the letter noted.

"Quick and continuous update of data will assist in India's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and will help not only in tracking and monitoring but will also help in defining the strategies and plans at the Centre, State and District level," Lav Agarwal, Joint Health Secretary, said in the letter.