The second COVID-19 wave is far from over, cautioned the Health Ministry on Thursday, stating that there are several districts across India which are still in the danger zone. “Please watch your October, November and December — this is a critical period for the country. We have work together to ensure that COVID-19 doesn’t spread and peak again,” said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
He added that people should avoid crowded places, unnecessary travel, and should not slip into the complacency. “Citizens should not let their guards down as the COVID numbers could see an uptick in November and December due to the festive season in case we are not careful. The second wave of COVID-19 is not over, and the situation is plateauing with the country still reporting as high as 20,000-odd new infections daily,” he said.
“We cannot take the current stable situation for granted. We have to be mindful of the fact that the pandemic is going on and can take an untoward turn if we are not careful,” Mr. Agarwal said.
The Health Ministry said that Kerala continues to report 50% of the total COVID-19 cases in the country currently. The State has over 1 lakh active cases, and the number in four other States ranges between 10,000 and 50,000. Also, five States — Mizoram, Kerala, Sikkim, Manipur and Meghalaya — are reporting a weekly positivity rate of over 5%.
Thirty-four districts across nine States and Union Territories are reporting a weekly positivity rate of more than 10%, according to the Health Ministry.
Speaking about the country’s preparedness to tackle any upcoming surge, V.K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, said that 8.36 lakh hospital beds are currently available COVID-19 patients, in addition to nearly 1 million isolation beds in dedicated care centres.
He added that 4.86 oxygen-supported beds and 1.35 lakh ICU beds are available. “We are prepared to face a daily surge of 4.5-5 lakh COVID-19 cases,” Dr. Paul said. Stating that there is no issue in vaccine availability in the country now, he said that vaccines approved in India will “see a surge in the near future”.
