COVID-19: Ahead Of Festivals, Delhi LG Stresses On Need For More Caution, Regulation And Random Testing

New Delhi: In view of the upcoming festivals, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Monday (March 22) stressed the need for more caution and regulation and random testing, especially at airport and railway stations. Addressing the reporters after chairing a meeting with the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) over the rise in COVID-19 cases, Mr Baijal said, “In view of the upcoming festivals, the need for more caution and regulation was stressed upon and random testing at airport and railway stations needed to be done-particularly of passengers coming from states with high incidences of COVID-19 cases.”

Also Read: Revised Vaccination Timings From March 22 Onwards, Adequate Manpower To Be Deployed: Delhi Government

It was decided to continue with the existing strategy of cluster-based surveillance, testing, and genome sequencing. We stressed upon the need to ramp up vaccine coverage with greater outreach and with special emphasis on marginalised/poor sections without access to a digital platform, he said.

The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Health Minister Satyendra Kumar Jain, Chief Secretary, and other senior officials. Delhi on Sunday (March 21) reported 823 new infections, the highest single-day spike which the national capital registered this year.

According to the latest figures released by the health department, one person lost his life to the viral disease in the last 24 hours. The infection tally in the national capital went up to 6,47,984 and a total of 10,956 fatalities due to the disease have been recorded so far. On Sunday, of the total cases, 3,618 were active. As many 6,33,410 people recovered from COVID-19 so far with 613 recoveries recorded on Sunday.

Also Read: More Private Facilities Being Allowed As COVID Vaccination Centres In Delhi, 3 States: Government

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. 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 highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. 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 become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.