The dangerous waveform of the Covid-19 is rising rapidly again. The pandemic’s first wave peaked in India in September last year, when the active caseload crossed a million-mark. And the situation for the second lockdown is taking birthright now. This situation is because people are not taking the protocols correctly.
In the past few days, people gathered in stadiums to watch cricket matches where only 10% of people have followed the protocol of wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing. Ministers flagging the election rallies and asking people to stay at home during Holi sounds like contradicting things.
The pandemic has not come to an end since. ‘Laxity shown by people in following coronavirus or COVID-19 protocols and mutant strains of the virus is the main reason behind the sudden spike in India’s cases, said All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) chief Randeep Guleria.
In a significant development on Tuesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has released a fresh set of guidelines for April, asking states to enhance the proportion of RT-PCR tests, strictly enforce the ‘test-track-treat’ protocol and speed up the pace of Covid-19 vaccination to cover all priority groups. In many places, the state or central govt has banned celebrating Holi in public.
All are ordered to celebrate at home only.
Doctors, clinics and hospitals recognize that more coronavirus surges are likely to occur. They are working with manufacturers to stock up on equipment. And they are continuing their policies for protecting patients and staff members.
Here’s what you can do now:
Continue taking the practice of coronavirus precautions, such as physical distancing, hand-washing and mask-wearing.
Stay in touch with local health authorities, who can provide information if corona cases begin to increase.
Make sure your household maintains two weeks’ worth of food, prescription medicines and supplies.
Work with your doctor to ensure that everyone in your household, especially children, is up to date on vaccines. Also, including this year’s flu shot.
-by Palak Thakur.