Punjab prepared to deal with Covid third wave: Official
Darpan News Desk IANS, 05 Jan, 2022 01:33 PM
Chandigarh, Jan 5 (IANS) As the number of Covid-19 cases are rising in Punjab with a positivity rate at six per cent, the threat of a third wave looms large, but the Health Department is fully geared to deal with it, said state Health Department Director G.B. Singh on Wednesday.
Although the department has all infrastructural needs in place to deal with the large number of cases expected in case of the third wave becoming a reality, he also appealed to the people to get themselves fully vaccinated against the virus as it is the most potent tool to avoid Covid-19.
To increase vaccination coverage, the Health Department has started vaccinating children in the age group of 15-18 from January 3 and so far approximately 12,000 children were provided the first dose of the vaccine.
He said the drive to administer booster doses of the vaccine is going to start from January 10.
Singh also made an appeal to follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour strictly as transmissibility of the Omicron variant is three times more than that of the Delta variant.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of the farmers protesting along the borders of the national capital over agricultural issues, have agreed to the draft proposal prepared by the Central government, and is expected make a "major announcement" on Thursday. A meeting is likely to be held on Thursday noon to decide the further strategy of the movement.
Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress high command for appointing Ajay Maken as the Chairman of the screening committee for shortlisting candidates for the next Vidhan Sabha elections in Punjab. In a statement here, Amarinder Singh said Maken is the nephew of (late) Lalit Maken, who was one of the main culprits of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the sand mafia in Punjab alone runs illegal business of over Rs 20,000 crore. There are serious allegations of direct involvement of ruling Congress MLAs, their ministers and their close associates, including the Chief Minister himself.
Farmers' agitation on the borders of the national capital is likely to end soon as the Centre on Tuesday gave a written assurance on their demands. After a meeting in the evening, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is spear-heading the agitation, said that they will meet again on Wednesday as they have sought some clarifications from the government on its communication.
Accompanied by a high-level delegation, Putin visited New Delhi for the 21st India-Russia annual summit. He extended an invitation to Modi to visit Russia for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit in 2022.
For the third consecutive day, Maharashtra reported cases of Covid-19 variant Omicron, with two more in Mumbai taking the state's tally to 10, health officials said on Monday.
