Covid-19: One small mistake can cost us dearly, says PM

Taking cognisance of a video showing hundreds of tourists bathing at Mussoorie’s Kempty Falls in Uttarakhand in violation of COVID rules, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed deep concerns over such matters, writes ETV Bharat Deputy News Editor Krishnanand Tripathi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed serious concerns over laxity in following Covid-appropriate behaviour saying that the scenes of people roaming without masks and videos of crowded places must instill a sense of fear. "One small mistake can cost us dearly," he said.

“Over the past few days, we all have been seeing pictures and videos of crowded places and people roaming without masks or social distancing,” Prime Minister Modi told his new colleagues during his first official meeting with them. “This is not a pleasant sight and it should instill a sense of fear in us,” he warned the people. Modi’s message to his ministerial colleagues comes in the wake of a shocking viral video that showed hundreds of tourists bathing at Kempty Falls in Uttarakhand's Mussoorie.

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Imminent danger of third wave

India’s top health experts, including AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, have warned that the country may witness a third Covid wave in the next few months if people don’t observe time-tested methods of wearing masks, washing hands and observing social distancing norms.

Addressing the ministers, the Prime Minister said there is no place for carelessness or complacency in such times. “A single mistake would have far-reaching impacts and weaken the fight to overcome COVID-19,” he cautioned. According to sources, the Prime Minister told his colleagues that everyone must remember that the threat of COVID-19 was not over.

“Many other nations are seeing surges in infections. The virus is also mutating,” he said. “As ministers, our aim should not be to instill fear but to request people to keep taking all possible precautions so that we are able to move beyond this pandemic in the times to come,” the prime minister told his colleagues.

Kerala, Maharashtra cause of concern

Sources said Modi also expressed concerns over consistently high caseload in Maharashtra and Kerala. The southern state is reporting a high caseload with daily new cases ranging between 11,000 to 13,000 for a month now. The sustained high numbers of fresh Covid cases in Kerala come at a time when the daily caseload in the country has declined by half.

According to latest information available on www.covid19india.org, the seven-day moving average for new infections for the state was over 12,504 cases on July 7, and the state also reported more than 125 daily Covid deaths in the last week.

Maharashtra has been reporting 8,000-9,000 daily new cases and on an average over 270 deaths per day since a week. The prosperous western state is already the worst affected state in the country with more than 1,23,000 Covid deaths, accounting for over 30% of the total Covid deaths in the country so far.

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