Govt's word of caution as threat of Covid third wave looms large: Key points
The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday alerted citizens to keep the next wave of Covid-19 pandemic at bay by following Covid-appropriate norms. In a presser Tuesday afternoon, the ministry pointed out how "inappropriate behaviour" could invite the third wave in the country.
'Ensure third wave doesn't hit India'
Noting that the world was witnessing the third wave of Covid-19, NITI Aayog member Dr. VK Paul urged all to join hands to ensure it doesn't get to India. "PM Modi today clearly said that we should focus on keeping third wave at bay, instead of discussing when it would come in India," Paul noted.
'Third wave may be caused because of this behavior'
Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said that tourists flouting Covid norms who say, "we feel like we have come out of jail after 2 years. There's a huge crowd but we aren't scared of #COVID19. We have come here before the 3rd wave", may invite the third wave.
"We talk about the third wave as a weather update. What we fail to understand is that adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour or lack of it is what will prevent or cause any future waves," Agarwal said.
'Continued gross violations can nullify the gains'
Agarwal further said that continued gross violations of COVID-appropriate behaviour "can nullify the gains made so far."
'Daily new cases in country on decline'
"Daily new cases in the country continue to show a decline during the second wave. Average daily new cases declined from 3,87,029 cases between 5th-11th May to 40,841 cases between 7th July-13th July," the joint secretary said.
'Surge in northeast'
On the contrary, Agarwal said surge in cases is being noted in some states, like, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh. Similarly, there are some states, where cases have come down but are still being witnessed in the form of plateau, he added.
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