Gear up: Stalin tells officials amid concerns over 4th Covid wave

Chennai: People wearing masks in public places must be ensured, vaccination coverage, including administering booster dose, should be stepped up, Chief Minister M K Stalin told the district Collectors on Monday in a virtual meeting. The government machinery should be prepared to face any kind of situation, the Chief Minister advised Collectors and top State officials, amid concerns over emergence of a fourth COVID-19 wave.

The Chief Minister addressed the officials through vide-conferencing from the Secretariat here. Pointing to a rise in virus cases during the past one week in Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, he said that according to experts, a new sub-variant of Omicron strain was behind the spike.

''All of us should be prepared to face any kind of situation and that is my appeal,'' he told the Collectors and senior officials. Reiterating that vaccination is the biggest weapon against coronavirus, Stalin said it should be 'our paramount duty' to see to it that all eligible persons are vaccinated. Of the 6.33 crore eligible population, 74.75 per cent of them have received two doses, 91.5 per cent the first dose and 41.66 per cent the booster dose, he said. There are 1.48 crore people who have not received the second dose of the vaccination. Also, 11.68 lakh people, though eligible, have so far not opted for the booster/precaution dose.

It is a challenge to ensure that such people are duly vaccinated in the coming weeks, he said and underscored the importance of preventing deaths due to the virus while making sure that economic growth was not hindered and people's livelihood avenues are not affected.

''You should ensure people wearing mask in public places and in locations where people congregate in large numbers.'' The Chief Minister said all the government departments, district Collectors and officials should take all the necessary steps towards ensuring COVID-appropriate behaviour like use of mask.