The Centre on Wednesday advised people to wear masks in crowded areas following a surge of Covid-19 cases in neighbouring China, NDTV reported.
The government directed officials to remain alert and strengthen surveillance. The Centre also said it will resume its weekly Covid briefings.
The decisions were taken after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a meeting with top officials and experts on the Covid situation in India.
The secretaries of health, department of pharmaceuticals, department of biotechnology, Ayush, Indian Council of Medical Research Director General Rajiv Bahl, NITI Aayog member VK Paul and National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation chairperson NK Arora attended the meeting, among other officials.
“Covid-19 is not over yet,” Mandaviya said in a tweet after the meeting. “We are prepared to manage any situation.”
On Tuesday, the Union health ministry had urged states to send all Covid-19 positive samples for genome sequencing, saying that this would ensure timely detection of newer variants, if any.
Apart from China, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in a letter to all states and Union Territories took note of the “sudden spurt of cases” in Japan, the United States, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Brazil.
On Wednesday, Paul said that only 27% to 28% of India’s eligible population have taken the precautionary dose of Covid vaccine, according to Mint.
“We appeal to others, especially senior citizens, to take precaution dose,” Paul told reporters after the meeting. “Precaution dose is mandated and guided to everyone.”
He urged citizens not to panic and stated that there was no change in the guidelines for international air travel yet.
“Use a mask if you are in a crowded space, indoors or outdoors,” he said. “This is all the more important for people with comorbidities or is of higher age.”
India was one of the worst hit countries during the first two waves of the pandemic. On Wednesday, the country recorded 131 cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative tally since the pandemic began in January 2020 to 4,46,76,330, according to PTI
Two deaths due to Covid-19 were recorded across the country, taking the total toll to 5,30,680.
Meanwhile, state governments began to intensify measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Arunachal Pradesh’s Surveillance Officer Lobsang Jampa said the state will continue to focus on testing, according to PTI.
“Samples of those who are found positive for Covid-19 will be sent for genome sequencing as instructed by the Union Health Ministry for timely detection of variants of coronavirus,” Jampa said.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan advised people not to ignore fever, cold and sore throat. He added that lessons learned during the peak period of Covid-19 cases in Kerala should be followed to deal with the virus, reported PTI.
Covid-19 in China
In the past few weeks, coronavirus cases have increased sharply in China after it abandoned key parts of its “Zero Covid” containment strategy in response to protests.
In some parts of the country, hospitals have become overcrowded and pharmacies have been facing shortages of medicines, according to Reuters.
On December 14, a video shared by the South China Morning Post showed patients being hooked up to intravenous drips in their cars as beds were not available in clinics and hospitals.
The capital city of Beijing registered five Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday and two on Monday, according to Reuters. These were the first fatalities due to the virus in several weeks.
China has registered a total of 5,242 deaths due to the coronavirus since the pandemic started in the country in late 2019.
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