COVID Surge : As Cases Rise Worryingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Terms Tika Utsav Another Major War

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The active COVID-19 cases in India breached the 11 lakh-mark for the first time after a record high of 1.52 lakh new infections while a massive vaccination push, dubbed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the beginning of another major war against coronavirus, was launched on Sunday in a bid to abate the surge

The active caseload till now was at its lowest at 1,35,926 on February 12 and at its highest at 10,17,754 on September 18, 2020

Amid an unprecedented burden on health infrastructure in 15 states and Delhi, which are witnessing an upward trajectory, authorities have started reserving more COVID hospitals and taking steps to address any shortage of medical supplies, besides enhancing curbs on the movement of people

The Centre announced a ban on export of Remdesivir, used in coronavirus treatment and its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, and asked all domestic manufacturers to display on their website details of their stockists and distributors

There were some reports of shortage of drugs from a few states

India’s COVID-19 tally of cases climbed to 1,33,58,805, and the death toll increased to 1,69,275 with 839 daily new fatalities, the highest since October 18, 2020, the data updated by Health Ministry on Sunday morning showed

While the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 10 crore after 85 days, the ‘Tika Utsav’ or a special ‘vaccination festival’ was started till April 14

“Anyone eligible for the vaccine should get the jab, and for this the society and administration have to make full efforts,” Prime Minister Modi said pitching for “zero vaccine waste” and urging the people to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour

“This festival is, in a way, the beginning of another major war against corona. We have to lay special emphasis on personal hygiene as well as social hygiene,” he said.