Prepared To Handle Surge Of 5 Lakh COVID-19 Cases A Day: Government

Mumbai: The government has said the healthcare infrastructure had been augmented to handle a surge of up to five lakh COVID-19 cases per day. It, however, stressed that this does not imply that such a high number of infections will be reported in the future.

“The dynamics of the virus after vaccination and infection that can lead to herd immunity… we have no direct formula for this. As one can see, despite the administration of vaccines, cases keep coming up and we are still learning. The preparations to secure us will be of the same level. We go ahead with preparing for 4.5 to 5 lakh cases per day, but that doesn’t mean it will happen, should happen or could happen,” NITI Aayog member (health) VK Paul said at a press conference on Thursday.

Paul further said that now there is no issue of availability of Covid-19 vaccine in the country and urged people to come forward to take a second dose for complete vaccination.

Speaking about the different types of COVID-19, Paul said that currently there is no new form of concern as per the available data.

Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said that the government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure complete preparedness to deal with any surge, adding that three months are very crucial in the fight against COVID-19 in the country.

“Please watch your October, November, December,” Agarwal said, warning people about the threat of Covid-19 resurgence during the coming festivals such as Dussehra, Diwali, Durga Puja, Milan-un-Id and Christmas and wedding season.

He has repeatedly stressed that the second wave of the pandemic is not over, highlighting that the country is still reporting more than 20,000 new infections every day.

While the overall COVID-19 positivity decreases across the country, Agarwal pointed out that a large number of districts are still reporting high case positivity.

He said five states – Mizoram, Kerala, Sikkim, Manipur and Meghalaya – are reporting a weekly positivity rate of more than five per cent.

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