Ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations, the Centre has asked states and union territories to take measures to ensure there is no overcrowding, indoor events have enough ventilation and people follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour amid concerns over the pandemic situation in India following a surge in virus cases in neighbouring China.
In a letter to states and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan stated, “Considering the upcoming festive season and new year celebrations, there is need to put in place requisite public health measures and other arrangements to minimize risk of increase in transmission of the disease by maintaining and strengthening focus on test-track-treat-vaccination and adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour, i.e. use of mask, hand and respiratory hygiene and adherence to physical distancing.”
In the context of preparedness for upcoming festivities, he said “it is essential that all measures are put in place with relevant stakeholders like event organisers, business owners, market associations, etc. to avoid overcrowding, ensure adequate ventilation especially in indoor settings, wearing of masks in such places where crowds congregate.”
Here’s a look at Cautions in States Across India
Goa
A popular holiday destination, Goa is seeing its highest surge in foreign arrivals ahead of Christmas and New Year with hotels in the state at almost full capacity thanks to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s decision to not impose pandemic restrictions. Chief Minister Sawant on Friday clarified that the state will not impose any pandemic-related restriction till January 2, 2023, but appealed people to take precautions on their own.
Midnight masses will be held in the state, where almost 30 per cent population is Christian, on Saturday.
Himachal Pradesh
Another tourist favourite for the holidays, Himachal Pradesh is hopeful of high footfall as snowfall is predicted in the state’s upper areas and Lahaul and Spiti on Christmas and Shimla, Manali and the higher reaches on December 29 and 30. Meanwhile, the Health department on Friday issued an advisory to observe Covid-appropriate behaviour.
According to data procured from the Tourism department, 1.39 crore tourists visited Himachal Pradesh till November 30 against 56.37 lakh last year. The tourism and allied industry suffered immense losses during the pandemic and tourist inflow in 2020 dropped 81 per cent against 2019. Tourist arrivals in the hill state was 1.72 crore in 2019 — the figure crashed to 32.13 lakh in 2020 before recovering marginally to 56.37 lakh in 2021.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has asked the Tourism and allied departments to facilitate the visitors. “The tourists are our guests and we should ensure the best possible hospitality to them,” Sukhu said and directed officials to make adequate arrangements in all districts and ensure smooth flow of traffic. He also urged the tourists to follow COVID-19 protocols and wear facemasks as a precautionary measure.
Uttarakhand
With Nainital, Mussoorie and other tourist spots in Uttarakhand being a popular holiday destinations, this year marks the return of business as usual with Covid restrictions such as hotels and restaurants opening at half seating capacity and social distancing that were in force, now lifted. Forest rest houses and bungalows at the Corbett and the Rajaji tiger reserves have also witnessed a rush of guests for Christmas and New Year eve.
Uttarakhand on Friday reported three fresh cases of coronavirus, two from Dehradun and one from Rudraprayag. A drive to administer booster doses of the anti-covid vaccine began in Uttarakhand on Friday. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the camp to assess the arrangements and appealed to eligible people to have themselves vaccinated if they had not done so already. He said such camps will be held regularly.
Kerala
The Kerala government on Friday said the operations of the state Covid monitoring cell has been resumed in the state. State Health Minister Veena George said that the number of COVID cases in the state is very low at present, adding the daily cases were less than 100 if the cases of two weeks were taken and there are very few patients under treatment in hospitals. As Christmas and New Year are round the corner, there should be extra vigil during travel, George said and urged everyone to wear masks in public places and while using public transport. Everyone should ensure that COVID protocols are strictly followed, the minister said.
The Kerala government, on Wednesday, had already sounded an alert of a possible spread of the virus and directed the district authorities to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive case samples for tracking the new variants.
Karnataka
Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar has said the Centre has asked the states to closely monitor major activities. “Any activity that involves thousands of people is a big gathering. So, we need to closely monitor and should also ask people to follow COVID appropriate behaviour, because this is not the time you let your guard down,” Sudhakar stated on New Year curbs.
The state health minister noted that about five to six lakh cases were being reported daily but of them 80 per cent of these cases are contributed by only 10 countries. “It was obvious that India has to be careful and take all precautionary measures,” he said.
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday reviewed the state’s preparedness for Covid prevention following a renewed scare amid a sudden spurt in cases in some countries. “Although the situation is completely normal in the state now, still we have to be cautious… This is not the time to panic but to be alert and careful,” he said. Adityanath also suggested making people aware about wearing facemasks in crowded places.
Noida Police on Friday held a meeting with operators of shopping malls and bars to review security arrangements ahead of Christmas and New Year and asked them to ramp up preparations during the festive season.
Odisha
Odisha government has issued a fresh advisory to citizens to follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, like wearing masks during Christmas and New Year. The advisory was issued after a high-level meeting was held on the prevailing COVID-19 situation. The state administration asked people to avoid crowded places and use masks, maintain social distancing, and go for tests if found symptoms.
Delhi
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who held an emergency meeting over the Covid situation, amid a surge triggered due to the BF.7 variant of the virus, and has said the variant has not been detected in Delhi so far and stated that his government is fully geared up to tackle any possible surge in cases.
West Bengal
West Bengal is alert and prepared to tackle any deterioration in the COVID-19 situation, Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya stated on Friday. “The state government is alert and ready to combat any COVID-19 situation. We also need to see that there is no panic among the people regarding this,” Bhattacharya said. “There are 28 health districts in West Bengal with 35 RTPCR laboratories. Each district has a Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH). We also have an ample number of beds and ICUs,” she said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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