Amidst New Year celebrations, there is a rumor that there could be a lockdown as all the states have asked people and institutions to stay alert for the next 10 to 15 days. This is winter season and almost all people go through the common cold, sneezing, coughing etcetera. So, those already having some illnesses are advised to avoid social gatherings.
During the Covid-19 outbreak in India, the first lockdown was imposed on March 21, 2024, and it continued for almost four months. It was the first time that people followed social distancing and wore masks; the use of sanitizers was a very common thing in that period. It is anticipated that the same could happen in January 2024.
steady Hike in COVID cases can lead to lockdown 2024
Many states such as Maharashtra have already reported 129 cases of COVID-19. The number of new Covid variants JN.1 stands at 10. This variant is more transmissible and infectious according to general practitioners.
COVID-19 cases have been steadily rising in India since the last month when the number of cases spiked especially in Kerala. With the emergence of Omicron sub-variant JN.1, both state and state governments have taken measures to curb its spread. Given this situation, the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) of Delhi issued guidelines for COVID-19 suspected or positive cases that will be reported at hospitals.
India registered three COVID-related mortalities in a day and reported 636 fresh coronavirus cases, according to Health Ministry data released yesterday. Two deaths were reported from Kerala and one from Tamil Nadu.
Odisha reports 5 new cases in the past 24 hours, said Director of Health Services Bijay Kumar Mohapatra on Wednesday. ”
A total of 511 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been reported in the country so far with the maximum recorded in Karnataka.
Pandemic preparedness by Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya
Pandemic preparedness and disease surveillance anchored in strong health systems that reach all people are crucial to ensure better protection from major disease outbreaks, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday.
Some states have implied night curfew from 10:00 pm to 5:00 am till 15th January 2024 which includes the Punjab region also. This duration can be increased as per future conditions.
Mandaviya laid the foundation stone of the NCDC regional branch in Assam and six state branches in Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, West Bengal, and Mizoram, and BSL-3 labs in Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand virtually from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) here.
He also inaugurated a temporary NCDC regional branch in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. These new NCDC branches and BSL-3 labs will strengthen the country’s capacity for pandemic preparedness and disease surveillance with a “One Health” approach. This is the best development so far in the medical sector in 2024, as this is the first month so many more facilities can be provided for people to fight this dreadful virus.
Further, state branches of NCDC and BSL-3 laboratory once functional will augment the capacity of region/state for preparedness and response especially for outbreak-prone diseases by high-risk pathogens, he said.
“The health infrastructure facilities inaugurated today, or for those whose foundation stone has been laid, will substantially boost our regional, district and block level healthcare infrastructure and will further augment the surveillance, diagnostics and public health preparedness and response capacity for any impending outbreak or pandemic in future,” he said.
Results of Scuttle butt News
As a result of all this, there is a hustle-bustle in cities because this news has created huge chaos in people. In Chandigarh, huge crowd was gathered in grocery stores, people are collecting ration in a massive amount so in case of lockdown they do not face any problem.
Furthermore, fuel pumps can also be seen overcrowded with two-wheelers and four wheelers for petrol and diesel, but there has been instruction from authorities they cannot fill their full tank only half is allowed to avoid any shortage of fuel in future. People can be seen less in malls, movie theatres, shopping centres, restaurants etcetera which is good step to protect themselves from any kind of illness in the beginning of 2024.