Highlights
- States like Madhya Pradesh, Punjab have reported rise in COVID-19 cases
- Rise in COVID-19 cases & positivity rate seen in 6 districts of Maharashtra
- Healthcare workers are being prioritised for the COVID-19 vaccination
New Delhi: The Central government has directed five states including a Union Territory — Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Chhattisgarh to expedite the vaccination of Health Care Workers (HCWs) and Front Line Workers (FLWs) so as to confer immunity in the shortest possible time frame in the wake of a rising trend of swachhindia.ndtv.com/tag/covid-19/ and positivity rate being observed in some districts in the last few days. In a letter to the Maharashtra government, Dr Manohar Agnani, Additional Secretary, “The rising trend of COVID-19 cases and positivity rate has been observed in six districts– Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, Suburban, Amravati, Thane, and Akola over the past few days.”
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Likewise, in a letter to the Madhya Pradesh government, he said, “a surge in cases and positivity rate has been observed in three districts– Indore, Bhopal, and Betul.”
In a letter to the Punjab government, Dr Agnani said that an increase in COVID-19 cases and positivity rate has been observed in three districts– SBS Nagar, Kapurthala, and Shri Muktsar Sahib while the same has been witnessed in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir and Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh.
Hence, it is advised that the vaccination of HCWs and FLWs in these districts is expedited so as to confer immunity in the shortest possible time-frame, as they are also involved in containment, surveillance and management of COVID-19 cases.
“You are requested to kindly direct the district officials concerned to immediately undertake measures for the maximum coverage of HCWs and FLWs with the COVID-19 vaccine at the earliest,” the letter stated.
(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.
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