'There is a long way to go in controlling Covid-19'
Reuters file
With the surge in Covid-19 cases in China, Singapore and parts of Europe, the Indian government has directed officials to maintain a high state of alertness and intensify surveillance across the country.
Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya met top officials in New Delhi on Wednesday and called for intensified surveillance, aggressive genome sequencing and maintaining high alertness across the country, according to a government spokesperson.
On Wednesday, India reported 2,876 new infections, taking the total Covid tally to nearly 43 million. But active cases have fallen to 32,811. More than 516,000 people have died because of Covid over the past two years in India; there were 98 fresh fatalities on Wednesday.
The government has also started administering vaccines to children aged between 12 and 14. It has also decided to give booster doses to all those above 60.
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Karnataka health minister Dr K Sudhakar urged people not to let the guards down as the threat is not yet over.
"Covid-19 hasn't gone,” he said. “However, it has been controlled by vaccination. There is a long way to go in controlling Covid-19. Even those who have taken the vaccine should not let their guard down against it.”
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