The Centre on Monday said there has been a continuous decline in the number of active COVID-19 cases in the country but there is a need to maintain surveillance, containment and caution, keeping in view the surge in the number of cases globally and the emergence of a new variant of the virus in the United Kingdom (UK). In this backdrop, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued fresh guidelines for surveillance with regard to COVID-19 and these will remain in force till January 31. MHA has asked all the state and UT governments to continue demarcating containment zones and follow prescribed containment measures strictly within these zones. Earlier, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria had said that the five COVID-19 vaccine candidates which are in advanced stages of clinical trial in India, were logistically feasible for distribution in both urban and rural areas. In UK Pfizer-BioNTech’s anti-coronavirus vaccine has got emergency clearance paving the way for mass vaccinations against the deadly novel coronavirus from as early as next week. Scientists and medical fraternity are on the job and hopefully humans will succeed to come up with an answer to the pandemic that has turned the entire world topsy-turvy.
That said, there are no grounds for complacency. People have to realize that not taking the spread of Covid-19 seriously is suicidal. Of late, people have turned somewhat indifferent towards the Covid-19 protocols. Masks are vanishing from the faces of people roaming around; social distancing is not being given a fig and not much attention is being given towards hand washing and other such precautions. This is a worrying factor and puts the lives of the entire population at the risk. Need is that the fresh guidelines issued by the government are followed in letter and spirit. The deadly coronavirus continues to be on prowl. In Jammu and Kashmir, hundreds of new cases are surfacing everyday and not a single day passes when someone doesn’t succumb to the infection. Winter is traditionally the season of flue particularly in Kashmir and therefore there is higher risk of falling victim to Covid-19. People need to understand the gravity of the situation. Precautions are a must and those who don’t follow these are putting their as well as the lives of their nears and dears to danger. Let people vow to not to move out without wearing a mask and follow all prescribed protocols.
