New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said that the continuous violations of Covid-19 guidelines can nullify the gains made against the pandemic so far. Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry, on Tuesday said that the third wave of Covid-19 may be caused due to the gross violation of covid appropriate behavior. “We would like to request to everyone — when we talk about the third wave (of COVID-19), we are taking it as a weather update and not understanding its seriousness and our responsibilities associated with it,” Lav Aggarwal said.

Quoting media reports of tourists who were flouting Covid norms, Lav said: “we feel like we have come out of jail after two years. There’s a huge crowd but we aren’t scared of Covid-19. We have come here before the third wave.” “We talk about the ‘third wave’ as a weather update. What we fail to understand is that adherence to COVID appropriate behavior or the lack of it is what will prevent or cause any future waves,” he said.

Lav Agarwal also informed that the government has deputed Central teams in 11 states so that they can help the state govts in COVI19 management. Besides northeastern states, the teams have been sent to Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Kerala & Odisha, as they were reflecting a growth trajectory.

Here are some of the important takeaways from the press briefing:

  • States, like, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh witnessing spike in covid cases.
  • Government deputes Central teams in 11 states so that they can help the state govts in COVI19.
  • Besides northeastern states, the teams have been sent to Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Kerala & Odisha, as they were reflecting a growth trajectory
  • The world is witnessing third wave (of COVID-19). We’ve to join hands to ensure that third wave doesn’t hit India: Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog
  • PM Modi has said that we should focus on keeping third wave at bay, instead of discussing when it would come in India: Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog

Most states at the time of second-wave had enforced strict lockdowns which now have been lifted owing to the decline in the cases. The Himachal Pradesh government had announced last month about the easing of Covid-19 restrictions following which, tourists started to head to higher altitudes, especially to Shimla, Kullu-Manali, and Dharamshala.