New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry has extended the COVID-19 containment measures till October 31, 2021 and directed all States & UTs to implement prompt & effective containment measures under the DM Act.
Union Home Secretay Ajay Bhalla, in a letter to Chief Secretaries of all States, has asked for continued focus on the five-fold strategy i.e. Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to COVID Appropriate Behaviour, to safely navigate through the festive season to avoid the possibility of a surge in COVID-19 cases.
“The daily COVID-19 cases and overall number of COVID-19 patients in the country are declining steadily. However, there are still localised spreads of virus in few States and COVID-19 still continues to be a public health challenge in our country,” Bhalla wrote.
“With the decline in the COVID- 19 cases, there is a possibility that Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) is not adhered to strictly, especially during the upcoming festivals. It is therefore critical to enforce adherence to guidelines which allows regular festivities in a cautious, safe, and COVID appropriate manner,” the Union Home Secretary stated.
Bhalla said that large scale gatherings in fairs, festivals, religious events, and functions may lead to a fresh surge in COVID- 19 cases in the country and therefore utmost vigil has to be maintained in respect of mass gathering events, so as to avoid any possibility of a surge in COVID- 19 cases.
“States/UTs, on a regular basis, should closely monitor case positivity, hospital/ICU bed occupancy of every district falling under their jurisdiction. The State Governments/UT Administrations concerned, having high positivity in their districts, should take pro-active containment measures so as to effectively arrest the spike in cases and to contain the spread of transmission. It is important to identify warning signs of potential surges early on and to take appropriate measures to curb the spread. This would require a localized approach,” Bhalla added.
The State Governments/ UT Administrations should continue with their vaccination programme with focus to accelerate vaccination of eligible age groups and prioritization of second dose to eligible beneficiaries, the letter further read.
