Don't take Covid third wave predictions as 'weather update', says govt

People have failed to understand that adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour will prevent or cause any future waves of the coronavirus pandemic, an official said.

The government said on Tuesday the predictions about a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic should be taken seriously as it warned that the gains made so far will come to a nought if people continue to violate Covid-19 appropriate behaviour. The comments by Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry, came amid reports of thousands of people flocking to hill stations and flouting Covid-19 norms.

The comments came amid reports of thousands of people flocking to hill stations and flouting Covid-19 norms. (HT Photo/Deepak Sansta)

Agarwal, while addressing a press conference on the coronavirus pandemic in the country, said people have failed to understand that adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour will prevent or cause any future waves of the coronavirus pandemic. "We would like to request to everyone -- when we talk about the third wave, we are taking it as a weather update and not understanding its seriousness and our responsibilities associated with it," Agarwal said.

Agarwal said that approximately 73.4 per cent of the new Covid-19 cases reported so far in July were from Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. He added that 55 districts across the country reported a positivity rate of more than 10 per cent in the week ending July 13.

He also said that central teams have been rushed to Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Meghalaya, Odisha, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura to support them in COVID-19 management.

NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr V K Paul, who was also present at the press conference, said a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic is being reported from across the world as he urged people to make efforts to ensure that it does not happen in India.

India on Tuesday reported 32,906 new cases of Covid-19 and 2020 related fatalities, which pushed the overall tally to 30,905,819 and the death toll to 410,784, according to the Union health ministry's data.

Also watch | ‘Covid 3rd wave warning not like a weather update’: Govt warns citizens

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also pointed out the issue earlier in the day during a virtual meeting with the chief ministers of the eight northeast states. PM Modi said it was a matter of concern to see crowds without masks and not following social distancing in hill stations.

"It is true that tourism and business have been greatly affected due to Corona. But today I will say with great emphasis that it is not right to have huge crowds in hill stations, markets without masks. We all need to work together to stop the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic," Modi said.

PM Modi urged people not to compromise on Covid-19 protocol to prevent a third wave of coronavirus pandemic and said that experts are constantly studying how troubling the virus could be after mutations and that prevention and treatment are very important in such a dynamic situation.