Covid Protocol: Centre Asks States To Consider Local Restrictions Ahead Of Durga Puja, Muharram

"The ICMR and NCDC have expressed concern regarding the potential of mass gathering events during festivals turning into super spreader events, thereby leading to a spike in Covid cases," he said.

Representational Image (Source: PTI)

New Delhi: As the fear of a third wave hangs in the air, the Center on Wednesday advised the States & UTs to consider imposing localized restrictions for upcoming festivals like Muharram, Onam, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Durga Puja and curb mass gatherings.

In this regard, he urged the states and UTs to refer to the directions issued under the Disaster Management Act by the Home Ministry on June 29 for focussed containment measures.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote a letter to the chief secretaries and administrators of all states and UTs stating that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have pointed towards the potential of such mass gatherings as super spreader events. 

Bhushan said even though the trajectory of daily new cases has shown a steady decline over the last month, there are a few states which still reflect signs of an upsurge in their daily cases and positivity.

"In light of this order, and in view of upcoming festivals such as Muharram (August 19), Onam (August 21), Janmashtami (August 30), Ganesh Chaturthi (September 10), Durga Puja (October 5-15), where large public gatherings are expected, it is advised that states may actively consider the imposition of local restrictions in public observation of these festivals and curb mass gatherings," PTI quoted Bhushan's letter.

The Centre on Tuesday said that the reproductive number or R-value that indicates the speed at which COVID-19 is spreading is more than one and is showing an increasing trend in eight states and UTs - Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, Karnataka, Puducherry, and Kerala - which is a cause of concern.

The Kerala government came out with a fresh set of relaxed lockdown norms on Wednesday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the state registered 22,414 new Covid cases after 1,97,092 samples were sent for testing in the past 24 hours. On Tuesday, 23,676 people had turned positive.