FILE | Crowded Mall road after further ease in COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in Manali on June 26, 2021.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the first meeting with his new Council of Ministers, expressed his concern over people flouting the Covid protocols. He even added instructed his ministers to actively participate in Covid management.
"Over the past few days, we all have been seeing pictures and videos of crowded places and people roaming about without masks or social distancing. This is not a pleasant sight and it should instill a sense of fear in us," Modi said.
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The Health Ministry on Tuesday had also said it was “frightening" to see pictures of tourists thronging hill stations amid the pandemic and asked people to comply with Covid-appropriate behavior.
The PM stressed that powered by the Covid warriors and frontline workers, India’s fight against the global pandemic is underway with full vigour. "We are steadily vaccinating substantial numbers of our nation’s population. Testing is also consistently high," he said.
He added that in such a time, there should be no space for carelessness or complacency. A single mistake would have far-reaching impacts and weaken the fight to overcome COVID-19.
Cautioning people against venturing out, PM said, "With the numbers being lesser than what they were in the recent months, people may want to venture out. However, everyone must remember - the threat of COVID-19 is far from over. Many other nations are seeing surges in infections. The virus is also mutating."
"As ministers, our aim should not be to instil fear but to request people to keep taking all possible precautions so that we are able to move beyond this pandemic in the times to come."
He also expressed concern at the persistently high number of cases coming from Maharashtra and Kerala.
