Don’t attend mass events unless fully vaccinated: Govt

Apart from celebrating at home, senior government experts stressed on the continuous importance of people being careful about ensuring Covid-appropriate behaviour is followed.

The Union health ministry reiterated on Thursday that all mass gatherings should be discouraged ahead of the country’s upcoming festive season, and if attending such events is absolutely essential for someone, then full vaccination must be treated a prerequisite.

Covid infections saw a major spike in Kerala in the past two weeks – a phenomenon experts have attributed to Onam festivities and the laxity of restrictions on social movement through the festival. (AP Photo/R S Iyer)(AP)

The second Covid-19 wave is “not yet over” in the country, and spike in cases has always been observed as soon as festive seasons get wrapped up, senior officials health ministry officials warned on Thursday.

While nationally the positivity rate continues to show an overall declining trend since the week ending May 10, several districts still have very high positivity rates, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said during the government’s Covid-19 press briefing. A total of 39 districts reported a positivity rate of over 10% in the past week, while another 38 districts had a positivity rate of 5-10%, he added.

Government experts urged people to get both their vaccine shots as soon as possible and to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour in the coming weeks.

Till Thursday night, around 700 million doses of the vaccine were administered to 514.6 million people, with 155.2 million people fully vaccinated and 359.4 million people receiving one shot, according to government data. When seen alongside the country’s projected adult population of 940 million (according to the Census of India’s National Commission on Population), this means that while 54.7% of India’s adults have received jabs, only 16.5% of those above the age of 18 are fully vaccinated.

Several festivals across nearly all faiths such as Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra, Eid Milad un-Nabi, Diwali, along with holidays such as Gandhi Jayanti, are lined up in the coming 8-10 weeks. Covid infections saw a major spike in Kerala in the past two weeks – a phenomenon experts have attributed to Onam festivities and the laxity of restrictions on social movement through the festival.

“The key message we wish to convey to everyone is that we must be careful particularly in the context of the festive season. Therefore, we make a very strong plea even as we accelerate the vaccination programme… our precautions must continue. The time has not yet come to live life without wearing a mask. Like last year, this year also festivals need to be celebrated in a modified way. We will have to wait for celebrating festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, Eid etc. with great fervour,” said VK Paul, member (health), Niti Aayog.

“It is best to celebrate within [your] family, and avoid crowding at places and stepping out unnecessarily. Shopping at market places must be done very carefully without overcrowding. The wave seems to be stabilising even though it is not over yet… virus mutations can still turn this tide against us,” said Paul.

Apart from celebrating at home, senior government experts stressed on the continuous importance of people being careful about ensuring Covid-appropriate behaviour is followed. They also urged that people should embrace vaccination as availability of doses is increasing.

Balram Bhargava, director general, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), underlined measures that he stressed are absolutely essential to stop new Covid-19 waves: wearing masks even after vaccination, avoiding gatherings and getting fully vaccinated.

“I have a few points to make: it is absolutely essential to wear a mask even after vaccination; mass gatherings should be discouraged, particularly in the upcoming festival season because we still have few districts which are having the problem; and full vaccination should be a prerequisite if it is absolutely essential or it becomes critical to have a gathering of some people,” he said.

Bhushan, while sharing data, also urged people to not drop their guard as the second wave was not over yet. There are still 42 districts in the country that are reporting at least 100 new Covid-19 cases each day, he said.

As for weekly positivity, 39 districts are reporting weekly positivity rate of 10% or more, while another 38 districts currently have weekly positivity rate between 5% and 10%. Centre has asked states to monitor districts reporting higher than 5% case positivity rate to get to the cause of increased disease transmission, and taking immediate containment measures have been suggested for those districts that are reporting higher than 10% case positivity.

It is also a matter of concern that the weekly case positivity rate that had dropped under 2% around the end of July and first week of August has again seen a slight increase – the weekly positivity rate in India currently stands at 2.62%.

Experts also emphasise the need for avoiding crowded places for now.

“Some things are basic when we talk about fighting an infectious disease that is as transmissible as Covid-19. Gatherings should be avoided and wearing a mask is mandatory. Vaccination is important and should be taken as it is proved that vaccines currently in use help the progression of disease to severe levels, and these certainly reduce deaths to a large extent.

The vaccines also work against variants in circulation; therefore, people should take these,” said Dr GC Khilnani, former head, pulmonary department, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi.