Mumbai: The Mumbai civic body on Tuesday (October 18) issued an advisory urging citizens to adhere to COVID-19-appropriate behaviour during the upcoming festive season to prevent a spike in cases. The Maharashtra health department has cautioned that COVID-19 cases could rise, especially during winters and the festive season, citing new variants like BA.2.3.20 and BQ.1 reported from the state. The metropolis saw an upward trend in daily COVID-19 cases in the second week of October.
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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) asked citizens to get vaccinated against the viral infection, if not done so till now and also get booster dose, and wear face masks in crowded places and follow other COVID-19 protocols.
In a statement, the BMC said the festival season is a “critical period” as there may be a tendency to ignore COVID-19 safe behaviour during festivals due to large gatherings, events, fairs and crowds in enclosed and non-ventilated spaces.
Diwali and a few other festivals will be celebrated over the next fortnight.
The civic body advised citizens to get themselves tested immediately if they develop symptoms of the respiratory infection.
“The importance of early detection is also related to effectiveness of treatment taken. Therefore, the sooner you know you are sick, the easier it will be to determine when you need treatment or hospitalization,” the statement said.
Also Read: Maharashtra Warns Of Covid Spike After New Variant Detected In India
Asking people to avoid close contact with symptomatic coronavirus patients, the civic body asked them to wash hands frequently, maintain good ventilation indoors, wear face masks at crowded places, cover nose and mouth with handkerchief/tissue paper while sneezing and coughing.
Pointing out that daily COVID-19 cases registered an uptick in the financial capital in the second week of October, the civic body said new sub-variants of Omicron — BQ.1 (US variant), BA.2.3.20 apart from XBB, which is a recombinant of BA.2.75 and BJ.1 — have been detected in Maharashtra.
“These new variants have a growth advantage over other variants of Omicron like BA.2.75 and also immune evasive properties,” it stated while advising residents to take precautionary measures to prevent a surge in cases.
The advisory said people having difficulty in breathing, immunocompromised patients and those who have recently visited countries where the coronavirus infection is prevalent, should seek immediate medical advice.
Also Read: India’s Covid Vaccination Is Not Over Yet, Government Still Has Stock Of 3 Crore Vaccines
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
