Guwahati: Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Minister of Health, has requested in a letter to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot that the COVID-19 regulations be carefully followed during the party’s “Bharat Jodo Yatra.”
“Follow the COVID guidelines strictly during Bharat Jodo Yatra which is going on in Rajasthan. Use of masks-sanitiser should be implemented. Only vaccinated people should participate,” Mandviya said in the letter written on Tuesday.
If the COVID-19 safety guidelines are not adhered, Mandaviya has requested that the yatra be suspended.
“If following COVID protocol is not possible then the Bharat Jodo Yatra be suspended in the national interest, taking note of the public health emergency,” the letter further stated.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “I want to ask BJP did PM Modi follow COVID protocols during Gujarat Polls? I think Mansukh Mandaviya is not liking Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra but people are liking it and joining it. Mandaviya has been deputed to divert the public’s attention.”
It is noteworthy that the Yatra observed its final day in Rajasthan on Tuesday before moving on to Haryana today.
The health minister will reportedly meet with key administrators and experts to discuss the COVID-19 crisis that is currently occurring in the nation.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan writes to States and Union Territories that in light of the sudden increase in cases being seen in Japan, the USA, Korea, Brazil, and China, it is imperative to set up whole genome sequencing of positive case samples in order to track variants through the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) network.
“All states are requested to ensure that as far as possible samples of all positive cases, on a daily basis, are sent to the designated INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories (IGSLs) that are mapped to the States and UTs,” said Union Health Secretary.