PM Modi to interact with chief ministers over Covid-19 surge, vaccination plan
PM Modi has assured that if the five-fold strategy of testing, tracing, treatment, Covid-appropriate behaviour, and vaccination is implemented with utmost seriousness, it would be effective in curbing the spread of the pandemic.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a virtual meeting with chief ministers of all states on Thursday to discuss the current Covid-19 situation and the vaccination strategy ahead as the country reels under the second wave of infections.
The meeting comes at a time when India has logged a record over 126,200 daily cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Wednesday, which has compelled more regions across the country to reintroduce lockdown-like curbs to break the chain of transmission.
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PM Modi is meeting with state authorities five days after he held a high-level meeting to review the pandemic situation and the immunisation drive that is underway. During the meeting, the Prime Minister directed officials to ensure sustainable Covid-19 management and told them to make the citizens aware of the need to continue “Jan Bhagidari and Jan Andolan for COVID-19 management,” his office said in a statement.
He also assured that if the five-fold strategy of testing, tracing, treatment, Covid-appropriate behaviour, and vaccination is implemented with utmost seriousness and commitment, it would be effective in curbing the spread of the pandemic.
PM Modi has directed that central teams of public health specialists and clinicians be sent to Maharashtra, Punjab, and Chhattisgarh, the states reporting ‘disproportionate number of deaths’, to review the situation.
Meanwhile, states and Union territories have imposed multiple measures to control the spread of the viral disease. Maharashtra has announced night curfew, weekend lockdowns and has also imposed Section 144 during the daytime. While Delhi too is observing a night curfew, Chattisgarh’s Raipur district will be under an 11-day complete lockdown, the administration said. Chattisgarh is currently India’s second-largest Covid hot spot after Maharashtra.
Experts say the number of daily cases, which are rising at an alarming rate, stress the need to focus sharply on getting the disease under control by expanding the vaccination drive in urban areas, especially large cities.
According to an HT analysis, almost half (48%) of all Covid-19 cases reported in India in March are from urban areas, which are home to just 14% of the population, with cities having the largest proportion of new infections since June 2020.
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