(TibetanReview.net, Feb25’22) – As India’s Home Ministry today asked states and union territories to consider relaxing Covid curbs for social, sports, entertainment, academic and religious events as well as night curfew hours in view of the substantial decline in the number of cases, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has reported 70 new cases among Tibetans in the Indian Subcontinent during the past one week.
Palden Dhondup, the Health Department Secretary and Chair of CTA’s Central Task Force Committee on Covid-19, has said there had been 2,000 cases, including 5 deaths, among Tibetans in the Indian Subcontinent recorded in January during the peak of the third Covid pandemic wave in India.
Meanwhile, in guidelines sent to chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories (UTs), India’s home secretary has also emphasised that the wearing of masks, maintaining of social distancing, hand hygiene and ventilation in closed spaces, as mandated in the National Directives for Covid Management, should continue to be enforced.
Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has also asked states and UTs to continue with testing and surveillance, clinical management, vaccination and implementation of Covid- appropriate behaviour for managing Covid.
India’s Health Ministry this morning reported 13,166 new Covid cases during the past 24 hours. The daily figure had peaked at 3.47 lakh in January during the pandemic’s third wave in the country.
India’s tally of Covid cases now stands at 4,28,94,345, with 98.49% having recovered and 0.31% being active.
The death toll has climbed to 5,13,226, with 302 fresh fatalities, constituting 1.20% of the total.
The daily positivity is 1.28% and the weekly 1.48%.
In capital Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today that all Covid-related restrictions will be withdrawn, including night curfew, while physical classes in schools would restart from Apr 1 and the fine for not wearing masks will be reduced from Rs 2,000 to Rs 500.
Although there has been no official announcement yet, India is likely to resume regular international flights from Mar 15, reported the PTI news service Feb 21, citing government sources.