Need To Follow Covid Norms, Images Of People Thronging Hill Stations ‘Frightening’: Centre

Asserting that the Covid-19 pandemic is not past us, the Union health ministry on Tuesday said that if people failed to follow Covid appropriate behaviour in public, especially in hill stations and markets, then the gains made to contain the virus in the past few weeks will be nullified.

While addressing a press conference earlier today, health ministry officials said images of people thronging popular hill stations especially in Himachal Pradesh is “frightening”. Stating that failure to follow social distancing norms will lead to a spike in the number of cases, officials urged everyone to continue to wear masks in public.

Meanwhile, a video of a young boy asking people in McLeodganj to wear their masks has gone viral.

According to the Union health ministry, as many as 73 districts across 17 states and Union territories reported more than 10 per cent Covid positivity rate in the week from June 29 to July 5.

While the second Covid wave has ebbed in most states, a few are still reporting a test positivity rate of over 10 per cent, health ministry officials said.

A total of 91 districts in the country reported more than 100 daily new cases in the week ending July 4, a senior official said.

Eighty per cent Covid cases in India were reported from 90 districts across 14 states and Union territories, indicating the need for focused attention in these areas, the official said.

With 553 fresh fatalities, India recorded the lowest daily death toll in around 90 days while 34,703 new cases of coronavirus were reported, the lowest in 111 days, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

With the fresh cases, the total tally of Covid-19 cases climbed to 3,06,19,932, while the death toll climbed to 4,03,281.

The active cases further declined to 4,64,357, the lowest in 101 days, and comprise 1.52 per cent of the total infections.

(With PTI inputs)