The Centre on Tuesday directed all its employees who are 45 or above to get a shot of the Covid-19 vaccine to ensure that the spread of the infection is contained. The government memorandum, sent to all the ministries, said that the decision has been taken after monitoring the current Covid-19 situation in the country.
The memorandum added that the decision was taken based on the strategy undertaken for prioritising the groups for vaccination to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country.
"All central government employees of the age of 45 years and above are advised to get themselves vaccinated, so as to effectively contain the spread of Covid-19," the government said in the release.
"They are further advised to continue to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, even after vaccination, by frequent washing of hands/sanitization, wearing a mask/face cover and observing social distancing etc," the release further stated. The government had earlier this month expanded the ambit of vaccination for people above the age of 45.
India has been witnessing a sharp spike in the number of daily cases in the last few weeks. On Monday, it recorded more than 100,000 cases - the highest daily spike since the beginning of the pandemic. Though the number came down to 96,982 on Tuesday, several states and Union Territories like Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi remained on high alert. The countrywide death toll reached 165,547 with 446 fresh fatalities in the last 24 hours.
{{/usCountry}}India has been witnessing a sharp spike in the number of daily cases in the last few weeks. On Monday, it recorded more than 100,000 cases - the highest daily spike since the beginning of the pandemic. Though the number came down to 96,982 on Tuesday, several states and Union Territories like Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi remained on high alert. The countrywide death toll reached 165,547 with 446 fresh fatalities in the last 24 hours.
{{/usCountry}}Union health minister Harsh Vardhan will meet health ministers from 11 states and Union Territories (UTs) today to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also scheduled to meet chief ministers on Thursday evening to take stock of the situation and discuss the progress in the ongoing vaccination drive.
India's total caseload stands at 12,686,049. The count of active cases is at 788,223. The recovery rate has dropped to 92.48%, according to data shared by the Union health ministry.