Govt releases covid SOPs for festive season crowds
Organizers of religious events and cultural functions must submit detailed site plans
A digital platform is being built to monitor the entire value chain, from procurement to storage and distribution of covid-19 vaccines, as soon as a candidate is approved for mass immunization, the government said on Tuesday. It also released guidelines for crowd management during the festive season.
India has been focusing on increasing its testing capacity for covid-19. So far, more than 80 million samples have been tested, of which 8 million were done over the past week. As on Tuesday, India’s covid-19 cases touched 6,724,380, with 104,032 fatalities.
“There is a gradual decline in daily new cases. The daily positivity rate is also declining when compared to the previous week and new recoveries have exceeded new cases reported in recent days," said Rajesh Bhushan, secretary, ministry of health and family welfare.
“The maximum recoveries were reported on 26 September with 93,420 patients being discharged in just 24 hours, while the maximum number of new cases was reported on 27 September with around 88,600 cases," he added.
According to the Union health ministry, 10 states account for 77% of total active cases of which three, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala, account for 50% of India’s active cases.
Analysing the trend of covid cases reported from states, Bhushan said it was too early to take a call on Maharashtra and that there was a need to observe the state for a longer period.
As far as covid-19 deaths are concerned, 48% of total deaths in India are concentrated in 25 districts of eight states, out of which 15 districts are in Maharashtra, he added.
On Tuesday, the health ministry issued standard operating procedures (SOP) on preventive measures to contain the spread of covid in view of the upcoming festive season spanning October to December, when large gatherings are witnessed for religious events, fairs, rallies, exhibitions, cultural functions and processions. While festive activities will not be allowed in containment zones, the government also said that the organizers of such events must prepare a detailed site plan and ensure crowds to the bare minimum, besides complying with thermal screening, physical distancing and sanitization norms.
“Planning for the event should specifically factor this so that crowds are regulated and managed to ensure physical distance and frequent sanitization," according to the new guidelines.
Meanwhile, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday released the National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda and yoga for covid management. “The protocol has been brought out considering Ayurveda literature and clinical experience, empirical evidence and biological plausibility and emerging trends of ongoing clinical studies," said Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, secretary, AYUSH ministry.
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