Full COVID-19 vaccination prerequisite if attending mass gatherings essential during festival season: Centre

The Union government urged citizens to get vaccinated and adhere to COVID-appropriate behavior, especially in the wake of the festive season.

New Delhi: As festival season is around the corner in the country, the Centre on Thursday (September 2) reiterated that mass gatherings should be avoided, however, if it is essential to attend then complete COVID-19 vaccination should be a prerequisite, PTI reported. 

In a press conference, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan also urged citizens to get vaccinated and adhere to COVID-appropriate behavior, especially in the wake of the festive season. "People should celebrate festivals at home, follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and embrace vaccination," Bhushan said. 

The government reiterated that the second wave of coronavirus in India was not yet over even though the weekly positivity rate was witnessing an overall downward trend. The remark comes as India logged 47,092 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, biggest single-day rise in around two months, as per Union Health Ministry data on Thursday. 

According to the central government, 39 districts in the country reported over 10 per cent weekly COVID-19 positivity rate in the week ending August 31 while in 38 districts it was between 5 and 10 per cent. 

Nearly 16 per cent of India's adult population has been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus while 54 per cent have been administered at least the first dose, Bhushan said.

"In Sikkim, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Himachal Pradesh all the adult population have got at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine," the Union health ministry said. 

Meanwhile, 300 cases of Delta plus variant of SARS-CoV-2 have been detected in India so far, as per the government data. 

Last week, the Centre had extended the ongoing COVID-19 guidelines till September 30 and asked all states and union territories to ensure no large gatherings take place during the festival season. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said that overall pandemic situation now appears to be "largely stable" at the national level, except for the localised spread reported in a few states. 

(With agency inputs)