People must follow appropriate behaviour as Covid-19 has not yet been eradicated, says AIIMS taskforce head Dr Naveet Wig

New Delhi [India], June 13 (ANI): With parts of the country slowly opening up as Covid-19 cases drop, experts have cautioned that the coronavirus has not yet been eradicated and that the onus lies on people now to ensure that Covid hotspots are not created in their areas.
Dr Naveet Wig, Head of the Medicine Department at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) emphasised on the need to exercise diligence in following Covid-19 appropriate behaviours.
"Unlock has to take place very slowly. Hotspots have to be taken care of. We must be ready to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and must personally ensure that us and our families will not get infected. Covid-19 has not gone. There are 10 lakh active Covid-19 patients in the country today," Dr Wig, who is also the Chairperson of the AIIMS Covid Task Force told ANI.
Dr Wig added, "We cannot eradicate it so we have to strictly follow CovidD-appropriate behaviors. The onus is on the people to ensure that there are no hotspots in our area."
He further strongly advocated for 'Localised unlocking', emphasising that wherever there is a hotspot, a lockdown should be in place.
"There should not be any panic for the third wave provided we do localised unlocking. Wherever there are hotspots, we cannot unlock," he said.
Asked about a CMC Vellore study that said that fully vaccinated people offer 77 per cent protection against hospitalisation, Wig said that regardless of what a study says, everyone should get vaccinated, which prevent Covid-19 deaths.
"So many studies will come and say different things. Regardless of what they say, people have to take the vaccine. It will prevent you from dying of Covid-19 and lead to less severe Covid if you get it," he said.
He added that vaccination should start from villages, where healthcare infrastructure is weaker.
"We have to also understand the 'Prime and boost' approach of vaccination. People call it mixing but I call it 'Prime and boost'. Countries should come together and figure out an approach because it will lead to greater immunity," he added.
India is currently in the process of recovering from the devastating second Covid-19 wave. The daily caseload has also improved considerably.
India reported 80,834 new Covid-19 cases, 1,32,062 patient discharges, and 3,303 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per Union Health Ministry. The total cases now stands at 2,94,39,989, including 2,80,43,446 discharges.
As many as 3,70,384 deaths have been reported so far. Currently, there are 10,26,159 active cases. A total of 25,31,95,048 doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered across the country so far. (ANI)