Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Thursday said that the months of September and October would be crucial in the management of the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reported.
At a press briefing, Bhushan urged citizens to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour during festivals in these two months.
“The second surge has not yet concluded,” Bhushan said. “It is not over and therefore, we have to maintain all necessary precautions, particularly in light of our experience that after every festival we see a spike.”
On Wednesday too, Bhushan had advised states to take precautionary measures during the upcoming festive season. He had cited the example of Kerala where cases have been rising in the last few days since the state celebrated Onam on August 21.
On Thursday, Indian Council of Medical Research chief Balram Bhargava also noted the high caseload in Kerala. Bhargava, also present at the media briefing with Bhushan, pointed out that Kerala was currently the only state with over one lakh active Covid-19 cases.
“Four states have 10,000 to one lakh active cases and 31 states have less than 10,000 active cases,” Bhargava said. As many as 41 districts in India were reporting a weekly positivity rate of more than 10%, he added.
Bhargava said that the coronavirus vaccines currently in use were “disease modifying” ones, and not “disease preventing”, so it was important to continue following Covid-19 protocols even after vaccination.
Meanwhile on Thursday, Kerala reported 30,007 fresh cases of Covid-19, while 162 people died due to the infection. The positivity rate stood at 18.03%, ANI reported.
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