Coronavirus: Central govt to launch public awareness campaign from Oct 8 amid rising cases

A public awareness campaign on coronavirus will be launched by the Central government on October 8, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Wednesday.

“The Cabinet decided to launch a public campaign from tomorrow on coronavirus. Mask, social distancing, and washing hands are the only weapons to remain safe, in the absence of a COVID-19 vaccine. Campaign to raise awareness about these measures in public places will be kicked off soon,” Javadekar said in a press conference after the weekly Cabinet meeting.

He informed that as part of the campaign, posters and banners for awareness will be put at Railway stations, planes, autorickshaw, metro, petrol pumps, school colleges, Anganwadi centres, housing societies, markets, police stations and government offices etc. A social media campaign will also be launched.

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Coronavirus outbreak

India's COVID-19 tally crossed 67-lakh mark with a spike of 72,049 new cases and 986 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry data revealed Wednesday morning. The total number of detected cases stands at 67,57,132 including 9,07,883 active cases. Thus far, 57,44,694 patients have recovered while 1,04,555 have succumbed to the respiratory illness. 

The sustained high levels of recoveries have led to further widening of the gap between active and recovered cases. Recovered cases exceed active cases (9,07,883) by more than 48 lakh (48,36,810). The recovered cases are 6.32 times the active cases ensuring that the recoveries are consistently rising, the Health Ministry has said.

The active caseload of the country has further slid to 13.44% of the total positive cases and is consistently declining. Matching the rise in the national figure, 18 States/UTs have Recovery Rate more than the national average.

Guidelines for festive season

On Tuesday, the government issued Standard Operating Procedures on preventive measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 during the upcoming festivals. In the wake of various festivals such as Chhath Puja, Dussehra, Diwali, Durga Puja, Navratri, Christmas, etc. falling in the months of October to December, the Ministry stressed that no festivity will be permitted in containment zones. Moreover, persons above 65 years of age, persons with comorbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years have been advised to stay at home.

In the Unlock 5 guidelines, the Ministry of Home Affairs removed the ceiling on the number of people allowed to participate in gatherings in open spaces. However, functions in open spaces can be attended by a maximum of 200 persons.

(PTI Photo)

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