The Centre has advised people to wear masks in crowded areas so as to halt spread of the virus
The masks are set to make a comeback. With Covid cases surging like before, the Union government has sent out alerts on the possible spread of new virus variants. Advising people to wear masks in crowded areas, the Centre has said that it will closely monitor the situations by taking stock of the situation on a weekly basis.
The situation has been prompted by the alarming surge of the Covid virus in neighbouring China. A high level panel has been constituted to monitor the situation in India. The current need is to prevent an unprecedented surge in virus infected cases.
As per the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who presided over a meeting with top officials and experts on the Covid situation, Covid is not over yet. The minister has stated that all those concerned have been alerted and surveillance strengthened.
Need to bring masks back
The need to bring back masks has been stated by the NITI Aayog, though it has been found that there is no need for panic at the moment. The government has also not brought in any alterations in norms for international air travel.
The Indian health administration will look at forming a strategy to block incoming cases at the international and domestic airports. This will most probably be done by ushering in a new set of guidelines for passengers travelling from abroad. The panel constituted in this regard will keep a close watch on Indians travelling from abroad for the festival season.
Sudden spurt in many countries
Besides, the Union government has also directed that samples of all Covid positive cases should be sent daily to INSACOG genome sequencing labs mapped with all states and Union Territories. INSACOG is a forum under the Health Ministry to study and monitor various strains of Covid in India.
It is being reported that there has been a sudden spurt in Covid cases in countries such as Japan, United States, Republic of Korea, Brazil and China. This has made it imperative that genome sequencing of positive case samples to track the variants are to be strengthened. The government believes that genome sequencing of positive case samples could will enable timely detection of newer variants.
As per the reports, as many as 129 fresh infections have been reported over the last 24 hours. The current active caseload stands at around 3000.
