Festivals are coming, impose sanctions before people turn into crowds: Center

New Delhi, Dt

The central government on Thursday warned all states to stop the spread of corona as the festive season begins amid fears of a third wave of corona across the country. The central government said state governments should impose restrictions or lockdowns before crowds gather at festivals, markets and public places. Meanwhile, in the last three hours, 3,000 new cases of corona were reported in the country and four more were killed. With this, the total number of cases of corona has crossed 2.16 crore while the death toll has crossed 2.11 lakh.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Thursday advised all states to be vigilant in view of the upcoming festive season as corona cases are on the rise in many states of the country. He also suggested that state governments consider imposing sanctions or restrictions at the local level. He said states should take steps to prevent people from turning out in droves as the festive season begins in the country. Corona cases are still on the rise in some states.

Referring to the ICMR and the NCDC, both agencies said they feared crowds at the festivals, which could lead to super-spreader events. It was further stated that under this order, crowds are expected to gather at the upcoming festivals of Moharram (August 15), Onam (August 21), Janmashtami (August 30), Ganesh Chaturthi (September 10), Navratri (October 9 to 12). States are therefore advised to enforce local sanctions.

Meanwhile, the country on Thursday came up with 2.3 new cases of corona. With this, the total number of corona cases has increased to 5,12,12,114 while the active cases have increased to 2,11,08. The death toll rose to 9,8,50 with the death of another 6 crore victims on Thursday. Of the total corona cases, the active case rate is 1.6 per cent. In the last 3 hours, there has been an increase of 3 in active cases. The recovery rate of corona is 4.5 per cent while 2,09,8,8 corona patients have recovered in the country so far. So far, a total of 4.5 crore doses have been given in the country under the corona vaccination campaign.

Meanwhile, Adar Poonawala, CEO and owner of Serum Institute, said that he has given Rs. 100 million has been set aside. He also shared a link for students to apply for financial aid. In early July, Poonawala praised 15 European countries for approving Kovishield as an approved vaccine for entry into their countries.