'Covid apt behaviour should be new normal': Govt's caution as cases dip | 10 points
The Health Ministry said that the overall COVID-19 pandemic scenario is optimistic and its contraction is consistent.
The Union Health Ministry on Thursday, while briefing the press about the Covid-19 situation in India, said that despite a decline in fresh coronavirus cases, Covid-19 appropriate behavior has to be taken as new normal. Dr. VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog, cautioned that vigilance is key to fighting the pandemic.
Here are the top 10 points from the briefing:
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Early decline in COVID-19 cases noted globally; consistent decrease in cases reported in India too, said Luv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry.
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Presently, 141 districts have a COVID-19 positivity rate over 10%; 160 districts have a positivity rate between 5-10% in India, he added.
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The decline in COVID-19 infections, positivity across all states noted; Kerala, Maha, TN, Karnataka have over 50,000 active cases, the Health Ministry top official noted.
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69% of adolescents aged 15-18 yrs have been administered 1st dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; 14% have been given both doses.
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Overall COVID-19 pandemic scenario is optimistic, its contraction is consistent and we are moving towards improvement, said VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog.
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Nearly 40 districts still reporting an increase in weekly cases and COVID-19 positivity rate, the government official added.
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Covid daily positivity in Kerala still enormously high at 29.57%; Mizoram, HP, Arunanchal, Sikkim's positivity is also of concern, they said.
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We're happy that significant progress continues to be made with regard to vaccination coverage. Unthinkable levels of the first dose coverage (96%)! It is a dream for any govt. The momentum in vaccination continues to be strong, said VK Paul.
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India’s first homegrown Messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals is currently under final clinical trials & we hope that we'll be able to use it someday.
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Meanwhile, India recorded 67,084 new cases of the novel coronavirus, along with 1,241 deaths due to the infection in the past 24 hours.
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