India needs to take quick and decisive steps to stop the emerging “second peak” of Covid-19 immediately, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said and warned of a country-wide outbreak if the growing pandemie was not stopped now.
The Prime Minister said this while addressing the Chief Ministers regarding the COVID19 situation via video conference. He noted that more than 96 per cent of the cases in India have recovered and India is having one of the lowest fatality rates in the world. However, he expressed concern over the high test positivity rate in Maharashtra and MP.
The Prime Minister’s last interaction with Chief Ministers was in January before the Vaccination rollout.
Micro containment zones
Modi warned that the confidence that came from achievements in the battle against Corona should not turn into negligence. The public should not be brought to panic mode, he said and stressed the need to strategise by incorporating the past experiences. Modi emphasised the need for provision of micro containment zones. He also wanted the states to get serious on ‘Test, Track and Treat’. This is very important to track every infected person’s contacts in the shortest time and keep the RT-PCR test rate above 70 percent, he added. The Prime Minister also insisted on more RT-PCR tests in states that give more emphasis to Rapid antigen tests like Kerala. Odisha, Chhattisgarh and UP.
He also asked to pay special attention to “referral system” and “ambulance network in small cities. This helps a great deal as the whole country has opened up for travel and the number of people travelling has increased. Modi stressed on the need for a new mechanism for sharing information.
Vaccination
The Prime Minister also lauded the increased pace of vaccination in the country and the vaccination rates crossing more than three million in a single day. However, he noted that vaccine waste in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to the tune of 10 percent was serious. He urged to correct the drawbacks of planning and governance at the local level to reduce vaccine waste. He also called for increasing the number of vaccination centres and asked to stay vigilant about the vaccine expiry date. “Dawai bhi aur kadai bhi insisted the Prime Minister.
