Vice President Naidu urges people to follow COVID-19 guidelines amid Eid celebrations

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, in his greeting to the country on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, urged people to celebrate the festival while following COVID-19 safety protocol, a statement from the Vice-President`s Secretariat informed.

"I extend all my warm greetings and good wishes to the people of our country on the auspicious occasion of Id-ul-Zuha. Id-ul-Zuha is a celebration of unswerving devotion to God and the boundless compassion and loves the Almighty has for His creation.''

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The festival inspires us to inculcate empathy, practice sacrifice and promote peace and universal brotherhood. As India and the world continue to fight a relentless battle against the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, we have been forced to celebrate almost all of our traditional festivals, which were otherwise celebrated with great splendour, at home in a more subdued manner," the statement quoted the Vice-President.

It further read, "Under these circumstances, we have to be content with a modest celebration and strictly adhere to the safety protocols of wearing masks, practising physical distancing and personal hygiene during all our celebrations. May this Id-ul-Zuha bring peace, harmony and prosperity in our lives, country and the world."

The number of deadly coronavirus infection cases in India has crossed 16 lakh mark with the highest single-day spike of 55,079 positive cases and 779 deaths in the last 24 hours.