NEW DELHI, Apr 1: The Centre has decided to operationalise both public and private Covid-19 vaccination centres on all days in April, the union health ministry said on Thursday.
The Centre has directed all States and UTs to make necessary arrangements to provide vaccination at the centres on all days, including gazetted holidays, during April.
“This step has been taken after detailed deliberations with the States/UTs on 31st March, to optimally utilise all COVID Vaccination Centres across the public and private sectors to ensure rapid increase in the pace and coverage of COVID vaccination,” the ministry spokesman said.
It added that the decision is in line with the graded and pro-active approach employed for COVID-19 vaccination.
“Vaccination exercise is a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 and continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level,” he said.
India launched the third phase of vaccination on Thursday opening the drive for all above the age of 45 irrespective of co-morbidities which cover the population with a high risk considering that 90 per cent of deaths related to the disease in India have been in the category of those above the age of 45.
India reported over 72,000 Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Thursday, the highest daily spike since October 11, 2020. Of the 72,330 new infections, 39,544 were from Maharashtra. Chhattisgarh recorded its highest ever count on Wednesday with 4,563 cases, while Karnataka also reported over 4,000 cases.
Meanwhile, 459 deaths were reported from across the country, the highest since December 5, 2020. Apart from Maharashtra, which reported 243 deaths, Punjab (55), Chhattisgarh (39), Karnataka (26) and Tamil Nadu (19) were the other big contributors. At least 14 states reported zero deaths on Wednesday.
India’s caseload is now over 1 crore and 22 lakh while there are more than 1.62 lakh fatalities.
Meanwhile, “Kumbh Mela” formally began in Haridwar on Thursday with several restrictions imposed on devotees coming to attend the event amid rising cases of Covid-19 in various states including Uttarakhand.
Checking on Uttarakhand’s borders with Uttar Pradesh at Narsan in Roorkee and Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district has been intensified to ensure that only people with a negative RT-PCR test report proceed for the Kumbh Mela. “Besides registering on our portal, it is compulsory for devotees to bring a negative RT-PCR test report with them,” Mela Officer Deepak Rawat said.
A negative RT-PCR test report not older than 72 hours before arrival, has been made mandatory for devotees gathering for the Kumbh by the Uttarakhand High Court.
(Manas Dasgupta)