With efforts being made to normalise life in many ways and almost all sectors being reopened, Dr. Randeep Guleria, director of India’s premier health institute AIIMS, has placed an emphasis on the need to rework the anti-Covid-19 strategy due to the surging number of cases in the country.
Dr. Guleria, who has been a part of the Indian government’s core committee in formulating policies for the management of Covid-19, believes such a rethinking is required, as the country is set to see a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases with the festive season coming up.
Speaking to Sputnik on Friday, Dr. Guleria said that the public seems to have forgotten about the pandemic.
"People seem to have forgotten about the basic precautions to take while stepping out. With the festive season coming up in India, the cases would go up drastically. The government needs to rework on the policies and increase awareness in public again," the chief of All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) stated.
India has been observing over 80,000 cases on a daily basis for the last few days.
He said the government's hard work over the last few months in controlling the spread of the virus would be in vain if they do not develop new strategies to stop the infection’s spread.
"At a lot of places across the country, we are witnessing another surge in the number of cases. In the current scenario, the focus is on reviving the economy on one hand and flattening the COVID- 19 curve on the other," Dr. Guleria said.
He suggested people should be charged heavily for violating norms along with aggressive testing as a way to contain the spread of coronavirus infection.
"We will have to live with the virus until the first quarter of 2021 and therefore, such measures like imposing hefty fines do play an important role in keeping a check on the spread of the virus, which will reduce the strain on the health care system and every patient can be provided with the best facilities," Dr. Guleria stated.
He also stressed that people should get themselves tested at regular intervals and isolate themselves if found positive.
Dr. Guleria also raised concerns that public frustration is on the rise, as they have been fed up with social distancing, not coming out of their houses, wearing masks, etc.
“Initially, everyone was more careful, but now they are not following the rules enthusiastically. However, we must understand that we are still in the heart of the pandemic.”