A senior Health Ministry official warned people about the threat of COVID-19 resurgence, as the festive season in the country has started. "Please watch your October, November, December," Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal warned.
"We cannot take the current stable situation for granted. We have to be mindful of the fact that the pandemic is going on and can take an untoward turn if we are not careful," NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul said.
Agarwal pointed out that there are still a large number of districts reporting high case positivity. He said five states -- Mizoram, Kerala, Sikkim, Manipur and Meghalaya -- are reporting a weekly positivity rate of more than five per cent. Thirty-four districts across nine states and union territories are reporting a weekly positivity rate of more than 10 per cent, while 28 districts across 12 states and UTs are reporting a weekly positivity rate between 5 and 10 per cent, he informed.
Agarwal advised people to avoid crowded places and unnecessary travel and to stay home, celebrate festivals virtually and explore online modes of shopping. Sustained efforts by the community are the key for successful pandemic management, he said.
In the US, still, 1,500-2,000 daily cases are being reported, Paul said. "If we compare it with our population then it is 300 per million and if it was 333 then it would have been as many as the second peak seen in India. This shows that we cannot take any risk in this delta variant times. If we look at the UK then there are more than 40,000 cases per day and their population is just 7 crore...The infection is spreading at more intensity there than our second wave," Paul said.
