Appeals to Encourage People to Mandatorily Take Vaccination
Port Blair, April 24: The Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, Shri Jitendra Narain today interacted with heads and representatives of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and sought their active cooperation in Administration’s fight against COVID-19. He outlined the various steps taken by the Administration to contain the spread of COVID-19 cases across the Islands. While addressing the religious heads/representatives, the Chief Secretary said, the country is currently fighting a tough battle against the virus and the priority of the Administration is to protect every islander from the pandemic. Stating that there is an exponential spike in the number of positive cases in the country, he said, the situation in the Islands is not that alarming, but we need to be extremely cautious and there is no room for complacency.
The Chief Secretary categorically said that if the number of cases in the Islands crosses a certain mark, the Administration will be forced to take stringent measures. He opined that religious heads can also play a major role in reaching out to the people and making them understand the benefits of getting vaccinated and the importance of wearing mask, maintaining social distance and hand wash. He requested them to avoid overcrowding in their respective religious institutions viz. Church, Mosque, Temples etc. and advise devotees to follow COVID protocols. People should be made aware of the severity of the present situation and the havoc the disease can create, if it spreads in the Islands. “Together we can win this war against the virus”, he said.
The Chief Secretary also said that the Administration as a precautionary measure, after reviewing the situation arising due to increase in the number of COVID cases has suspended activities attracting large gathering like Light & Sound Show at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, National Memorial Cellular Jail, Water Sports activities, beaches and other such activities in all the three districts.
However, keeping in view the convenience of the public, the Administration has not closed down the shops and other commercial establishments.
The Chief Secretary expressed concern over the people moving in market and other places without wearing mask and not maintaining social distancing. This, he said, will not only endanger their life but also the lives of others and the Administration will not tolerate this act and stern action will be initiated against the offenders. Mentioning that no country in the world is against vaccination, he said, it is the means through which we can protect ourselves and the disease, if at all contracted, will be manageable and won’t be life threatening.
The Chief Secretary also urged the people of the Islands not to move out of their homes unless really necessary and reiterated his stand that in today’s situation, the priority of the Administration is to save the Islanders.
Reciprocating to the call of Chief Secretary, the religious heads promised to extend their full support to the Administration in its fight against Corona and said, ‘we are with you (Administration)’. They also assured to motivate people to get vaccinated, report symptomatic cases and limit the number of people attending churches, mosques, temples and other religious places. They also assured to issue instructions related to COVID-19 protocol to the people visiting places of worship. The Chief Secretary also requested religious heads to make an appeal through AIR to adhere to COVID appropriate behavior and importance of vaccination. The religious leaders also expressed their gratitude to the Administration for holding the meeting and lauded the efforts of the Administration in dealing with the pandemic situation. The Chief Secretary also directed the concerned officers to look into the suggestions put forth by the religious heads and sort it out on priority basis.
The meeting was also attended by the Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Health), Dr. V. Candavelou, Secretary (Health), Shri Ram Niwas Sharma, Secretary (IP&T), Shri Sunil Kumar Singh and Deputy Commissioner (SA), Shri Suneel Anchipaka.