Saturday, 10 July 2021 | PNS | New Delhi
Concerns raised about jam-packed tourist spots
As coronavirus infection is resurfacing fast in the US, the UK, Russia and Bangladesh — and back home Maharashtra and Kerala record more than half of the total Covid-19 cases registered last week — the Centre on Friday warned that the pandemic is far from over and there is no room for complacency.
The Government also expressed its disappointment at the visuals from tourist spots and the way people were mingling without following Covid protocols, calling it “a serious cause of concern” and that such negligence will increase the risk of virus spread. More so because so far less than 5 per cent of the total population has been vaccinated.
“The country is still dealing with the second wave and we need to introspect if we can afford misplaced belief that Covid-19 is over,” said Health joint secretary Lav Agarwal as he referred to recent spikes in cases in some countries, including Russia and the UK, to caution people against lowering their guard.
He mentioned how the virus has shown resurgence in the United Kingdom, which hosted the Euro Cup 2021 semi-finals with a sea of football fans enjoying the match flouting Covid norms.
“We need to continue to take all precautions. The United Kingdom, Russia and Bangladesh have seen a resurgence of Covid-19 cases,” he said. Bangladesh is experiencing an upward trend since mid-May with most of the cases detected were of the Delta variant. It has now implemented a national lockdown, after concerns about the impact of the variant.
Fearing repeat here in India where Delta variant is on the prowl, Agarwal pitched for strict adherence to Covid-19 protocol: Mask and physical distancing. He said more than half of the Covid-19 cases reported in India last week were from Maharashtra (21 per cent) and Kerala (32 per cent).
He added that 14 districts in Kerala and 15 in Maharashtra are of concern.
The official said 80 per cent of the new Covid cases in India are reported from 90 districts in 15 States and Union Territories, which indicates the need for a focussed attention in these areas.
He also said 66 districts across 17 States and UTs reported COVID-19 positivity rate of more than 10 per cent in the week ending July 8.
India logged 43,393 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of cases to 3,07,52,950, while the active cases have declined to 4,58,727, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
The death toll has climbed to 4,05,939 with 911 fresh fatalities.
Rising Kerala’s positivity rate has left the Government alarmed. The State has been reporting around one-third of the overall daily Covid infections being reported in the country for the past several days. As many as 13,772 fresh COVID cases were reported yesterday, pushing the total cases to 30.25 lakh in the southern State.
Kerala is followed by Maharashtra with 9,083 cases, Tamil Nadu with 3,211 cases, Andhra Pradesh with 2,982 cases and Assam with 2,644 cases
The active cases in Kerala have touched 1,10,136. With the new infections, the positivity rate has also surged to over 10 per cent.
