Harsh Vardhan directs Gujarat govt to strictly follow COVID-19 measures during festivities

New Delhi [India], October 19 (ANI): To avoid a massive surge of Coronavirus cases in the upcoming festivities in Gujarat, the Centre directed the state government to strictly implement Prime Minister's message of "Jan Andolan against COVID-19" by wearing masks, maintaining a physical distance and frequent hand washing.
Dr Vardhan chaired a high-level meeting with deputy chief minister of Gujarat Nitinbhai Patel along with the senior officials, and in the meeting, the health minister reiterated that the coming winter and the long festive season pose a significant risk that could threaten the gains made against COVID-19.
"We should all be vigilant for the next three months. Prime Minister's message of wearing a mask/face cover, maintaining a physical distance and frequent hand-washing should reach the last citizen. Steps should be taken to monitor their non-compliance. Following COVID appropriate behaviour is simple," said Dr Vardhan.
Speaking on the state of preparedness for the upcoming season and festive celebrations, Nitinbhai Patel said that the standard operating procedures have been issued for carrying out various activities safely.
"People visiting Ahmedabad through buses are tested outside the city limits and are referred to isolation centres if found positive," said Patel.
At present country is undergoing the tenth month of the virus pandemic.
"Active Covid19 cases are currently around 7,72,000 which has been less than 10 lakh for close to a month. 55,722 cases were reported in the last 24 hours while 66,399 cases were discharged from care. Doubling time has been diluted to 86.3 days and the country will soon cross the figure of 10 crore cumulative tests," said the health minister.
On the management of COVID in Gujarat, Dr Vardhan noted that in the recent past, Gujarat has been one of the top affected states in the country.
"The state has shown remarkable stride to have a recovery rate of 90.57 per cent comparable to the recovery rate of India (88.26 per cent)," the Health Minister said.
He further informed that Gujarat is conducting 77,785 tests per million against the country's figure of 68,901.
"Gujarat's active case burden now stands at a mere 14,414, out of which 99.4 per cent are stable. Rest 0.6 per cent comprising 86 people are presently on ventilators," he added.
The health minister further interacted with the district collectors of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Vadodara and Surat which were the most affected districts and are vulnerable due to their urban nature.
He also took stock of the preventive steps taken in the districts of Junagadh and Jamnagar which have been reporting a surge in positivity in the last few weeks. (ANI)