New Delhi: The predictions about a third wave of Covid should be taken very seriously, the Health ministry said on Tuesday, pointing to news reports of people flocking to hill stations flagrantly flouting the safety norms. This is the third warning on the subject from the Centre. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pointed out this issue earlier – the second instance was at a meeting on Tuesday.
The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday decided to cancel the annual Kanwar Yatra, in view of the ongoing pandemic situation.
The development comes hours after the Indian Medical Association or IMA wrote to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to disallow the Kanwar Yatra this year in light of the possible third wave.
"People are taking predictions about the third wave like weather prediction reports, very casually. The third wave predictions have to be taken very seriously," said a senior official of the health minister during the evening's official briefing.
"There was a news report which said that people claimed that they were feeling jailed so they came out of their homes," he added.
Last week, images of tourists thronging Himachal Pradesh amid the pandemic had shocked the country.
Experts have been advising against large crowds ever since the pandemic reached India.
The two earlier waves of Covid — the first after gatherings during last year's festive season and the second during Kumbh earlier this year — made it clear that the disease gets a fresh lease of life every time social distancing norms are violated.
India's Covid death toll climbed to 4,10,784 with 2,020 new deaths recorded after Madhya Pradesh reconciled its fatality data while 31,443 new cases were reported, the lowest in 118 days, according to the Union Health ministry data updated on Tuesday.
India's total tally of COVID-19 cases mounted to 3,09,05,819.
The active cases have declined to 4,31,315 and comprise 1.40 per cent of the total infections. The national Covid recovery rate has increased to 97.28 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.
A woman medico, who was India's first Covid case, has tested positive again for the virus, health authorities said here on Tuesday.
"She is reinfected with COVID-19. Her RT-PCR is positive, antigen is negative. She is asymptomatic," Thrissur DMO Dr K J Reena said. Her samples were tested as she was prepared to go to New Delhi for study purposes. Then the RT-PCRresult turned out to be positive, she said. The woman is presently at home and 'she is OK', the doctor added.