Negligence towards COVID-19 appropriate behaviour behind rising cases: Vardhan

New Delhi, March 15

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday said negligence towards COVID-19 appropriate behaviour is the main reason behind rising cases, adding that few states account for more than 80 per cent of the cases.

He stressed that coronavirus appropriate behaviour like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing should be followed despite the availability of vaccine against the disease.

Vardhan was speaking during the sixth mega health camp for super-specialist consultations for parliamentarians held in Parliament House Annexe. The camp was inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in the presence of the health minister, a health ministry statement said.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh and other dignitaries were also present at the event.

Talking about the health facilities provided at Parliament House Annexe medical centre round the year, Vardhan said services of specialists from various specialties are available along with the provision for laboratory investigations, X-ray and ultrasound facilities.

“In the camps organised during the last few years, a large number of beneficiaries, including MPs, ex-MPs, their family members and other staff members, availed of the services. In-house arrangements have also been made for COVID testing and vaccine administration this year,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.

Speaking on rising COVID-19 cases in India, the health minister said, “Only few states account for more than 80 per cent of the rising cases. The negligence towards COVID appropriate behaviour is the main reason behind it. It is important to ascertain that COVID appropriate behaviour is followed even after the vaccine is available.”   

He also said the COVID-19 vaccination drive should be made a “Jan Andolan” (people’s movement) by raising awareness among the masses.

The total vaccination doses in the country are nearing 3 crore and the vaccination drive is rapidly catching up, Vardhan added.

Apart from usual services, specialised super specialist consultations are being offered to members of parliament, including cardiology, neurology, endocrinology and gastroenterology. Ayush services and nutritional services are also offered, it said.

In the camp held in December 2019, almost 240 members of parliament availed of the services. In today’s camp, super speciality services in cardiology, cardiovascular surgery and pulmonology with specialists from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have been introduced, the statement added. PTI