COVID-19 surge | Finance Ministry pushes for speedier vaccination
The Hindu
Ministry concedes Q1 growth to be hit, but not in favour of national lockdown
NEW DELHI The second COVID-19 wave which is spreading fast beyond the worst-affected districts in the country, could dent economic activity till June this year, and expanding vaccination pace in the country is the “need of the hour”, the Finance Ministry said on Friday. The ministry also indicated it is not in favour of a national lockdown to curb the pandemic, citing global experience of handling the second wave of COVID-19. While India’s second wave has seen new peaks in daily cases and deaths, active cases as well as positivity rates, the ministry said that the policy response is in sync with the ‘global experience’ and includes localized micro-containment measures, State-specific movement restrictions, mobilization of health supplies and ramping up of health infrastructure.More Related News