“People are taking predictions about the third wave like weather prediction reports, very casually,” a senior Health Ministry official said today.
Pointing again to news reports of people flocking to hill stations flagrantly flouting the safety norms, the Health Ministry today said that predictions about a third wave of Covid should be taken very seriously. The warning comes for the third time from the centre. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also highlighted the same issue during a meeting today.
“People are taking predictions about the third wave like weather prediction reports, very casually. The third wave predictions have to be taken very seriously,” a senior Health Ministry official said during today’s official briefing.
“There was a news report which said that people claimed that they were feeling jailed so they came out of their homes,” he added.
Images of people thronging hill stations in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand had gone viral recently, creating huge uproar over the tourists not following Covid-19 norms.
The experts have been warning against mass assemblies since the pandemic hit home.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said recent images from hill stations and city markets – of large crowds without face masks and zero social distancing – are a “cause for concern”, as he underlined the need to follow Covid protocols to ward off a potential third wave of infections.
“It is true that tourism, business and business have been greatly affected due to coronavirus… but today I will say very emphatically that it is not okay to have huge crowds in hill stations and markets without wearing masks,” PM Modi said.
“The virus does not come and go on its own… we bring it with us when we disobey the rules. Experts are warning us repeatedly that careless behaviour – like overcrowding – will lead to an increase in Covid cases,” he added.
“Steps should be taken to prevent crowds… We all need to work together to stop the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic,” PM Modi stressed.
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