Amit Shah and Suvendu Adhikari today held a huge roadshow in Bengal's Nandigram
Faced with an alarming spike in coronavirus cases - nearly 1.9 lakh have been reported in the past 72 hours - the centre wrote to states and union territories on Tuesday, saying "elected representatives... and religious leaders should be roped in to ensure Covid-appropriate behaviour".
The directive - part of a multi-point "action plan" to contain the virus before it "overwhelms healthcare systems" - comes as political leaders hold rallies attended by thousands - at which social distancing is absent and face masks often missing - as they campaign for five Assembly elections in March-April.
"Covid-appropriate behaviour must be enforced using Police Act... besides elected representatives, local influencers, celebrities, religious leaders should be roped in to ensure Covid-appropriate behaviour," Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote in that letter.
However, "elected representatives" - who have also been directed by the Election Commission to ensure Covid protocols are followed at their events - seem not to be overly concerned.
This morning Home Minister Amit Shah held a roadshow in Bengal's Nandigram - the site of an epic battle between former Trinamool MLA Suvendu Adhikari and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Visuals from news agency ANI showed the open-top bus carrying Mr Shah inch its way past an ocean of BJP supporters packed tighter than sardines in a tin can, and many were without masks.
Mr Adhikari, asked by NDTV about the apparent disregard of the rules at that event, would only say: "please ask Election Commission" before walking away.
The Election Commission has issued rules about the violation of social distancing and the absence of face masks - particularly by political leaders - at campaign events and rallies.
Meanwhile, today's letter also included a warning to districts with high caseloads. These must have "100 per cent saturation (of) vaccination of priority age group (those over 45) in the next two weeks."
At a press briefing earlier today the Health Ministry identified the 10 districts with highest number of active Covid cases. Maharashtra's Pune (59,475), Mumbai (46,248), Nagpur (45,322), Thane (35,264), Nashik (26,553) and Aurangabad (21,282) filled the top six spots, with Delhi at No 9.
The Health Secretary's letter outlined a series of steps to be followed by authorities at the district level, including the enforcing of Covid-appropriate behaviour, better quarantining and isolation practices, and improved and quicker tracing of at least 25-30 contacts of infected individuals.
"Any complacency at this stage, and at any level, will have heavy costs..." the letter warned.
Last week the Health Secretary chaired a high-level meeting with 12 of the worst-affected states and UTs, and advised them to focus on "stringent containment and public health measures".
The results of a study on public compliance to Covid protocols was also tabled; the study revealed that only 44 per cent of the people wear face masks when in public.
With input from ANI