COVID-19: Government issues advisory on celebrating the festive season
The Union Health Ministry on Thursday said that people should celebrate upcoming festivals at home, without gathering in large numbers. India is still witnessing the second wave of the pandemic, the Ministry stated, amid concerns over the COVID-19 situation in Kerala, reopening of schools, and beginning of the festive season. Here are more details on this.
'Festivals need to be celebrated in a restricted manner'
"Festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, Eid are coming. This year too, like the last year, they will need to be celebrated in a restrictive manner, and it is our appeal to all to stay at home," Dr. VK Paul of the COVID-19 task force, said.
Full vaccination prerequisite to attend gatherings: ICMR chief
"We are still in the second wave of COVID-19 and hence I appeal to all in the country to continue with all COVID-19 restrictions in your area," Dr. Balram Bhargava, Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said. He added that full vaccination should be a prerequisite if it is necessary to attend a gathering.
India reports biggest single-day surge in infections
In the past 24 hours, India reported 47,092 new coronavirus infections - the biggest one-day surge in two months. Meanwhile, the country's death toll went up by 509 during the same period. Worryingly, Kerala accounted for nearly 70 percent of the new cases and a third of the fatalities. The daily positivity rate stands at 2.80 percent.
Vaccination in India has shot up recently
Vaccination in India has shot up in recent days as supplies have improved. More than 66.2 crore doses have been administered till date, of which over 81 lakh were given out in the past 24-hour period. Over 37% people have received at least one vaccine shot while nearly 11% are fully vaccinated. India plans to vaccinate a billion people by this year-end.
Will a third wave hit India?
Experts have warned a third wave of COVID-19 could hit India between September and October. However, it will likely be less severe than the devastating previous wave in April-May, according to researchers at the ICMR. Manindra Agrawal, an IIT-Kanpur scientist working on projections for the pandemic, said the new wave would peak at around 1,00,000 daily cases.
