The government asked people on Tuesday not to travel unnecessarily, as the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over and the virus behaviour cannot be taken for granted.
During a health ministry press briefing, Niti Aayog’s Dr VK Paul said, "Though more people are receiving vaccines now, there is still a cause for concern since people are vulnerable to the virus. This is not the time for large-scale festivities. Don’t travel unnecessarily."
Health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over, if we look from a global perspective.
"There's a noticeable increase in cases across the world, which remains an area of concern. We've to work on containing the spread of the virus with strictness," he said.
A slowdown in the rate of decline of average daily Covid cases
The rate of decline of average daily Covid cases is reducing, which is a cause for concern, the Union health ministry said.
"There are 22 districts- 7 from Kerala, 5 from Manipur, 3 in Meghalaya among others - where an increasing trend in cases has been reported in the last 4 weeks," said Lav Agarwal.
There are also eight districts witnessing a decline in the positivity rate, but are now seeing a rise in Covid cases, the government said, adding that "we cannot take the situation for granted".
"The average daily new cases declined from 3,87,029 during May 5-11 to 38,090 cases during July 21- 27. In the past few weeks, there has been a slowdown in the rate of decline, which remains an area of concern," said Lav Agarwal.
Covishield reduced Covid infection by 93% during 2nd wave, mortality by 98%
A study by the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) conducted on 15 lakh doctors and frontline workers found that Covishield gives 93% protection, while there was a 98% mortality reduction, the government said on Tuesday.
"The study was conducted on 15 lakh doctors and frontline workers in AFMC who were administered with Covishield. It revealed that there was a 93% reduction in infection during the second wave which was driven by the Delta variant and 98% mortality reduction," said Dr VK Paul.
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