COVID Not Over Yet, Get Precautionary Dose & Wear Masks: Health Ministry Advises

On 20 December, India recorded only 112 new COVID cases.

(Photo: The Quint)

Union Health Ministry Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday, 21 December, said that COVID is not over yet but "we are prepared to manage any situation." This comes amid steep spike in the both number of COVID-19 cases, and the deaths associated to the pandemic, in China.

The big point: Dr Vinod Kumar Paul, Member of Health at NITI Aayog appealed to the country’s citizens to wear a mask, and advised them to take the precautionary dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

“Use a mask if you are in a crowded space, indoors or outdoors. This is all the more important for people with comorbidities or are of higher age,” he told media.

“Less than 28 percent of people have taken precaution dose. We appeal to others, especially senior citizens, to take precaution dose," he said.

Why this matters?

The Health Ministry had on Tuesday, 20 December, directed states to increase genome sequencing of positive cases – to track the variants currently infecting people in India.

What's INSACOG? The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium, known as INSACOG, is a consortium of over 50 laboratories to monitor COVID variants. Genome sequencing is a scientific method used to identify the characteristics of new virus strains.

The big number: On 20 December, India recorded only 112 new COVID cases. Active cases fell to 3,490, according to Health Ministry data.

What has the US said:

"We know that any time the virus is spreading, that it is in the wild, that it has the potential to mutate and to pose a threat to people everywhere," State Department spokesman Ned Price told, addressing media.

"The toll of the virus is of concern to the rest of the world given the size of China's GDP [gross domestic product], given the size of China's economy," he added.