New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday (October 28, 2021) announced that the COVID-19 restrictions across the country has been extended till November 30. The decision was taken to prevent any further spread of the infection ahead of the festive season.
The MHA urged that the five pillars of COVID-19 management – test, track, treat, vaccinate, and adhere to COVID-19 protocols – must be followed.
Ministry of Home Affairs extends COVID-19 restrictions across the country till November 30 to prevent any further spread of the pandemic
— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2021
KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
- The order restricts mass gatherings in containment zones and in districts reporting more than five percent case positivity.
- Gatherings may be allowed only in districts with a COVID-19 positivity rate of five% or below but after seeking advanced permissions and with a cap on the number of people allowed.
- Such gatherings must be monitored to make sure physical distancing and mask norms are followed, ensure strict penal action on noncompliance.
- COVID-19 restrictions or relaxation is the discretion of states and UTs, it should be monitored weekly and depending on hospital bed occupancy (oxygen and ICU beds).
The decision seems to have been taken to put a check on the further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic as there has been a slight rise in the number of infections. On Thursday, India reported 16,156 daily new cases taking the country's total tally to 3,42,31,809. The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 4,56,386 with 733 people succumbing to the virus in the last 24 hours, the Union health ministry had said.
Meanwhile, as many as 17 cases of the Delta variant AY.4.2 strain has been reported from India. The cases have been reported from Andhra Pradesh 7, Kerala 4, Karnataka and Telangana 2 cases each, Jammu & Kashmir and Maharashtra have reported 1 case, respectively taking the total to 17.
Amid fears of the impending third wave of the pandemic in the country, the Centre decided to step in and urged caution saying 'it is crucial to step up vigilance & follow COVID-19 appropriate behavior instead of creating panic among the public'.
