Follow Covid norms or face ‘lockdown’: Centre

July 7, 2021 28 Views No Comment

NEW DELHI, JUL 7 (AGENCIES) : Union Health Ministry on Tuesday expressed serious concern over reports of people flocking to hill stations and other tourist destinations including markets in large numbers, without following COVID-19-appropriate behaviours.

Health ministry’s joint secretary, Lav Agarwal said “revenge travel” is dangerous. People need to understand that the fight against Covid-19 is still underway, he added. “We can nullify the ease of restrictions again if protocols are not complied with,” said Lav Agarwal, hinting at another lockdown if Covid-appropriate behaviour is not followed.

Photos are coming in from places like Manali, Shimla and Mussoorie of massive crowds roaming around with no face masks, he said. Agarwal told reporters that similar behaviour had been reported from Delhi’s Sadar Bazar and Dadar market in Mumbai.

The government said violations of Covid protocols will lead to further increase in the infections as it stressed on wearing of masks and maintaining of physical distancing.

The Ministry also quoted an online survey to suggest that a majority of Indians have failed to comply with Covid-appropriate behaviour. About 83% of respondents are not fully complying with Covid guidelines and 63% said they do not comply with social distancing, said Agarwal.

Director General of ICMR, Balram Bhargava, also touched on the issue. The ICMR chief said that instead of focusing on waves of infection, people should turn their focus to preventative actions to curb the spread of the virus.

62 pc positive districts from NE
NE states asked to ramp up testing

Even as the rest of India is witnessing a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases, North Eastern states are seeing an upward trend.
An India Today report shows, of the of the 77 high positivity districts, 48 districts are in the Northeast. Of the 48 districts, Arunachal Pradesh leads the pack with 19 districts. Manipur is at eight, Meghalaya at seven, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura have four each while Assam has two.
This has prompted the Centre to depute multi-disciplinary teams to some of the states like Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, and Manipur in North East besides Kerala, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.
Concerned over the rise in coronavirus cases, the Home Ministry (MHA) has also called a special meeting on Wednesday to review Covid preparedness and vaccine rollout in the seven Northeast states and Union Territories.
Meanwhile, Director General of ICMR, Balram Bhargava has urged North Eastern states to increase Covid-19 testing.
“Human host is the biggest issue, containment can stop the spread. Focus on early testing to identify the case early,” said Bhargava.