NEW DELHI: As the Covid-19 cases are rising in some states, especially in Maharashtra and Kerala, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday warned states and Union Territories that the pandemic is not over yet and the protocol must be observed and vaccination should speed up.
Highlighting the need to be alert and not to forget Covid-appropriate behaviour, Mandaviya told health ministers of states and UTs in a meeting to review the status and progress of the door-to-door vaccination drive ‘Har Ghar Dastak 2.0’ launched on June 1 that there was a need to be cautious and to strengthen the genome sequencing.
“The Covid-19 is not over yet. With rising Covid-19 cases in some states, it is important to be alert and not to forget Covid-appropriate behaviour,” Mandaviya said. Stressing the importance of vaccination among vulnerable age groups, he urged the state health ministers to personally review the status and progress of the particular month-long drive.
“Let us accelerate our efforts to identify all beneficiaries in the 12-17 age groups for the 1st and 2nd doses so that they can attend schools with the protection of the vaccine,” he added. He said there was a need to widen vaccination coverage for schoolchildren as well as giving precautionary doses to the elderly.
India has been registering a continued surge in daily new Covid-19 cases since June 1. On Monday, the country recorded 8,084 fresh Covid-19 cases and ten deaths. This is the third day India’s daily new cases crossed the 8,000 mark. The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) will be reviewing the data of genomic surveillance of variants to detect whether any new variant is causing the spike, officials added.