Health Ministry warns against COVID third wave as festive season begins

At the outset of the nationwide festive season, a senior Health Ministry official warned of the threat of the resurgence of COVID. Reiterating that the second wave of the pandemic was not done with yet, the official advised the public to refrain from entering crowded places and celebrate upcoming festivals while maintaining social distancing or virtually. Additionally, addressing a press briefing, the authority stated that the country's COVID situation has stiffened and nearly 20,000 fresh cases are still being reported. 

'Please watch your October, November, December': Health Ministry

"Please watch your October, November, December," Lav Agarwal, Health Ministry Joint Secretary said while warning the public about the potential COVID third wave, especially during the upcoming festival and wedding season. 

Additionally, Agarwal stated that the country could not afford to take the current plateauing situation for granted and one must be mindful that COVID persists and possibly take an untoward turn owing to the public's callousness. Advising people to remain indoors and avoid unsolicited travel, Agarwal even mentioned the scope of exploring online portals of shopping.

COVID situation in India

The Health Ministry stated Kerala has recorded 50% of the total COVID infections in the country during the first week of October. The state has nearly a lakh of active cases while figures on the graph range between 10,000 and 50,000 in the other four states. Also, Agarwal shared that five states, namely, Mizoram, Kerala, Sikkim, Manipur and Meghalaya have been reporting a weekly positivity rate of over 5%. He added that 34 districts across 9 States/ UTs have been reporting a weekly positivity rate of more than 10% while 28 districts across 12 States/ UTs are reporting weekly positivity rate between 5 and 10%

Further, the Health Ministry concurred 71% of the country's adult population have received at least one jab of the COVID-19 vaccine and 27% have received both doses. Stressing the readiness of the country's medical infrastructure, the government official said that 8.36 lakh COVID-19 hospital beds are available and nearly one million isolation beds stand dedicated toward the cause. 

"We are prepared to face a daily surge of 4.5-5 lakh COVID-19 cases," the Health Ministry stated.