Beware of Covid surge during festival, wedding season

New Delhi: "Please watch your October, November, December," a senior Health Ministry official warned people on Thursday about the threat of Covid-19 resurgence during the coming festival and wedding season, and advised them to avoid crowded places and celebrate festivals virtually.

Asserting repeatedly that the second wave of the pandemic is not over, the government said that though the situation is plateauing, the country is still reporting as high as 20,000-odd new infections every day.

"We cannot take the current stable situation for granted. We have to be mindful of the fact that the pandemic is going on and can take an untoward turn if we are not careful," an official said at a joint media briefing.

Warning people about the threat of Covid-19 resurgence during the coming festival and wedding season, Health Ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said, "Please watch your October, November, December." He advised people to avoid crowded places and unnecessary travel and to stay home, celebrate festivals virtually and explore online modes of shopping.

The government said that Kerala recorded 50 per cent of the total coronavirus cases in the country last week. Kerala has over lakh active cases currently and the figure in four other states is ranging between 10,000 and 50,000. It said five states -- Mizoram, Kerala, Sikkim, Manipur and Meghalaya -- are reporting a weekly positivity rate of over five per cent.