<span style="color: #222222;">Health Ministry has asked the states and union territories to keep a close watch on the evolving causes of diseases including COVID-19, Influenza Like illness (lLl) and Severe Acute Respiratory illness (SARI) in the country.<br />''<br />''In an advisory, the Ministry said that COVID-19 and influenza share a number of similarities in terms of mode of transmission, high-risk population, clinical signs and symptoms.<br />''<br />''It said that these diseases can be prevented by following simple public health measures including avoiding overcrowded and poorly ventilated settings, using handkerchiefs/tissue while sneezing or coughing, wearing a mask in crowded and closed settings, maintaining hand hygiene and avoiding spitting in public places.<br />''<br />''The Ministry also stressed on raising community awareness regarding adherence to respiratory and hand hygiene in order to limit the transmission of these diseases.</span><br />