The Union Health Ministry on Thursday stated that 80 per cent of Covid cases in India are recorded from 90 districts, of which 14 districts are in the northeastern states.
The ministry also stressed that the second wave is still underway and should not be taken for granted.
Highlighting specific challenges linked to the northeastern states, Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry, Lav Agarwal, said the Indian government has supported these states by following a "proactive, preemptive and a graded approach" to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Agarwal was speaking at a workshop organised by the Union Health Ministry in partnership with UNICEF for media professionals and health correspondents of northeastern states on the current coronavirus situation in India, the need to bust myths about vaccines and vaccination and to reinforce the importance of COVID-19-appropriate behaviour.
Media professionals and health correspondents of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura participated in the workshop virtually, a Union Health Ministry statement said.
Highlighting India's COVID-19 management strategy, the statement quoting Agarwal said there are three important components in the fight against coronavirus — community ownership of Covid-appropriate behaviour, evidence-based reporting and busting myths about the virus and vaccination.
He also shared the details of active cases and the status of vaccination drives in the northeastern states.