New Delhi: NITI Aayog (Member) Health Dr VK Paul said on Tuesday that the world is witnessing the third wave of COVID-19, with 3.9 lakh new confirmed cases being reported every day. Make sure the third wave doesn’t hit India.
Dr Paul said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has clearly said that the focus should be on discussing when the third wave will come in India.
“Earlier today, PM Modi had clearly said that we should focus on keeping the third wave at bay instead of discussing when India will be attacked. The Prime Minister said that negligence at this stage could lead to a huge jump in cases,” he told a media briefing.
Read also | Need to work together to stop third wave, speed up vaccination process: PM Modi to Northeast chief ministers
Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry, who was also present during the briefing on COVID-19, on his part highlighted the gravity of the third wave.
“We want to request 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,” he said.
Agarwal also informed that the average daily new cases have come down from 3,87,029 between May 5 and May 11 to 40,841 between July 7 and July 13.
The Joint Secretary said that the Center has noticed the gross violation of COVID-appropriate behavior in some parts of the country.
Citing recent surveys to identify the major reasons why people in India avoid wearing face masks, Agarwal said, “Some said they do not wear masks because they find it difficult to breathe after wearing a mask.” it occurs”.
“Others said they wear the mask for a while and then hang it on the side of the face or on the chin because they feel uncomfortable,” he said.
Agarwal further added, “There are people who say that they maintain social distancing and do not feel the need to wear masks.”
He said, “Some even go as far as to say that masks do not help in the prevention of Kovid-19.”
Meanwhile, NITI Aayog (Member) Health, commenting on reports of shortage of vaccines in some parts of the country, said that the situation is dynamic and everything is being done in coordination with the state governments.
Read also | COVID-19: PM Modi to interact with Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Odisha
The Union Health Ministry said in a release that the Government of India, as part of the nationwide immunization campaign, is supporting the states and union territories by providing them free COVID vaccines.
In the new phase of universalisation of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, the central government will procure (free of cost) 75 per cent of the vaccines being produced by vaccine manufacturers in the country and supply to the states and union territories.
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