Covid-19 cases low but health ministry warns against 'revenge travel'

80% of new cases from 90 districts; N-E states show high case positivity rate

Some are calling it revenge travel as pictures from Manali broke the internet, showing massive crowds descending on the hill town, escaping a brutal North India heatwave. Others are calling it a final hurrah before an impending third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, the health ministry expressed concerns regarding people visiting hill stations, or even local markets, in droves.

Ministry of Health Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said, “The pandemic isn’t over once restrictions are relaxed. Such a casual approach towards Covid-appropriate behaviour will only have the virus mutate further.”

The Ministry of Home Affairs has called a special meeting this week to review Covid preparedness and vaccine roll-out in the seven Northeast states.

Even as India is reporting a steady decline in daily case additions, the health ministry data shows that nearly 80 per cent of the new Covid cases in the country are being reported from 90 districts alone. Most of these districts are in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Manipur, Goa, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, among others.

The data reveals that 43 of the 73 districts, or around 59 per cent of these districts, are in the Northeast. These 73 districts still report over 10 per cent case positivity rate. Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Manipur, Kerala, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Sikkim are some of the states where these districts are located.

“Intensive localised infection-containing activity is required in these areas,” said Agarwal.

Agarwal said the second wave is still not over in some parts of the country.

He claimed there has been a steady reduction in daily cases — from a peak of 414,188 cases during the second wave of infections. 

In the last 24 hours, India has reported only 34,703 fresh cases of Covid. From 531 districts, with over 100 cases daily in the week ended May 4, it is now limited to 91 districts, with over 100 daily cases as of the week ended July 4.

However, the infection is still spreading in pockets, observed the official.

The health ministry quoted an April survey by LocalCircles conducted across 319 districts and covering 33,000 respondents. 

It showed 24 per cent of the people surveyed did not wear masks, 63 per cent did not adhere to social distancing norms, and 25 per cent did not comply with Covid-appropriate behaviour while travelling.