new delhi the government on wednesday asked states and union territories to consider imposing local restrictions in view of upcoming festivals such as holi amid a surge in covid19 cases in some parts of the countryin a letter to state chief secretaries and union territory administrators additional secretary in the health ministry arti ahuja stated that the battle against covid19 is at a critical juncture with rising number of cases and deaths being reported from many parts in the recent pastread alsonew double mutant covid19 variant found in india what we know so fara new double mutant covid19 variant has been found in india said the government on wednesday several variants of concerns vocs have been found in india previously however the ministry of health said that the cases of new variants are limited in number govt said it could not be sufficientlyfocus on testtracktreat protocol mha in fresh covid guidelines to statesnew delhi the ministry of home affairs on tuesday issued fresh guidelines in the wake of the covid situation in india asking states to strictly enforce the testtracktreat protocol and ensure covidappropriate behaviour to curb the spread of the virus the guidelines which will remain in forcein view of upcoming festivals such as holi shabebarat bihu easter and eidulfitr etc it is strongly advised that states may consider imposing local restrictions in public observance of these festivals and limitdo away with mass gatherings in exercise of the powers conferred under section 22 of the disaster management act 2005 the letter statedahuja asked states to refer to the order issued by the ministry of home affairs on march 23 for effective control of covid19 and also attached the order issued by the delhi disaster management authority for referencecoronavirus live updatesany laxity at this point in ensuring strict adherence to various sops issued by the ministry of health to contain the spread of covid19 may result in losing the impetus and benefits that our country has gained so far in managing the virus strict adherence to covid19appropriate behaviour in public places and gathering is the key to break the chain of transmission and reduce the incidence of cases in the country the letter statedwith agency inputs