New Delhi:

Warning people not to let their guard down against the Covid during the holiday season, the government today asked them to ensure that they “share the happiness but not the virus”.

In a briefing today afternoon, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare co-secretary Lav Agarwal said: “We need to make sure we share our happiness but not the virus.”

“Please watch your October, November and December. These months bring a lot of festivals, weddings and parties,” he said, calling on people to celebrate festivals in the spirit of defeating Covid-19 .

The senior official said prevention is the key to controlling Covid. “Covid does not spread on its own, a person has to be prepared to spread,” he said.

He also warned people of “Covid fatigue”, referring to people tired of staying indoors due to the pandemic and restless to resume their pre-pandemic activities.

“There is global evidence of an increase following unhindered public rallies in the UK, Russia and the Netherlands,” he said.

Affirming that there are still many challenges facing the country in the fight against the Covid pandemic, Mr Agarwal said: “We have not yet controlled the second wave”.

He said there were around 2.44 lakh of active Covid cases in the country, indicating that the spread is continuing. “You cannot say that the situation is under control everywhere.”

The country today reported 22,431 new cases of Covid and 318 deaths from the infection in the past 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health. The number of cases today is 19% higher than yesterday’s figure of 18,833 cases.