Amid rising COVID-19 cases, Uttarakhand govt asks people to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour

"After the steady decline in COVID-19 cases for about five months, COVID cases are showing an increasing trend in several parts of the country over the past few weeks. It has been observed that it is largely due to laxity in the observance of COVID-appropriate behaviour by people especially in crowded places,” Chief Secretary Om Prakash said.

PTI
March 23, 2021 / 03:12 PM IST

Representative image (Image: Reuters)

The Uttarakhand government has asked people to strictly follow COVID-appropriate behaviour in view of the fresh surge in infections in various parts of the country and the upcoming Kumbh Mela in Haridwar.

In the light of guidelines issued by both the central and state governments in the past for surveillance, containment and caution, Chief Secretary Om Prakash on Monday asked district administrations, various state and central government organisations and other stakeholders to take all necessary measures to ensure wearing of face mask, hand hygiene and social distancing.

These measures are also included in the National Directives for COVID-19 Management which have to be strictly followed throughout the state, he said.

Follow our LIVE blog for latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic

"After the steady decline in COVID-19 cases for about five months, COVID cases are showing an increasing trend in several parts of the country over the past few weeks. It has been observed that it is largely due to laxity in the observance of COVID-appropriate behaviour by people especially in crowded places,” he said.

Close

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

View more
How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

View more
Show

Related stories

Keeping in view the fresh surge in cases and upcoming festivals as well as the Maha Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, it will be important to ensure compliance of guidelines and to strictly enforce COVID appropriate behaviour, such as wearing masks and hygiene and social distancing by people.

The Kumbh Mela will start on April 1.

He said all district magistrates, state government organizations and other stakeholders should take necessary measures for creating awareness among people to follow COVID appropriate behaviour and take necessary action for its strict enforcement to overcome the pandemic.

Necessary orders, guidelines issued by various departments of Government of India, state government and respective District Administration in this regard, should be widely disseminated to the public and to the tehsil, block and village level functionaries for implementation, he said.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.
PTI
TAGS: #coronavirus #Current Affairs #India #Uttarakhand
first published: Mar 23, 2021 03:12 pm