Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that rising Covid-19 cases in few states are still a matter of concern.
Reviewing the Covid-19 situation with Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka,Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha, the Prime Minister asked the CMs to adopt effective measures to combat the pandemic and focus on micro-containment zones.
“Country has fought Covid pandemic with mutual cooperation and united efforts. Apprehensions about third wave of coronavirus being expressed; number of cases in some states remain matter of concern,” he said.
He said that these are among the states where the Covid infection numbers have seen an increase in several districts. He said that Maharashtra and Kerala are still reporting the highest cases. He asked the Chief Ministers to increase the testing and push the vaccination drive.
Stressing on maximum vaccination, PM Modi said that importance must be given to “test-track-treat-tika strategy” to combat COVID-19.
“Till last week, 80 percent of the total cases had come from the states that are present in this meeting today. Around 84% of the total deaths have also been recorded from these six states,” he said, adding that Maharashtra and Karnataka had seen a constant rise in the number of cases.
“The government has announced a Rs 23,000 crore emergency response package to combat COVID19. The states must use funds from this package to strengthen health infrastructure. Infrastructural gaps need to be filled. There is also a need to focus on rural areas,” PM Modi said.
He further said that special attention must be given by the states towards vaccination in the rural areas.
The interaction has come after the Union Health Ministry had raised the issue of violation of COVID-19 norms in various parts of the country, particularly the hill stations, and directed the State Governments to focus on public health measures to combat the deadly pandemic.
Earlier on July 13, 2021, Prime Minister took stock of the COVID-19 situation with the Chief Ministers of the Northeastern States.
Acknowledging that India is still in the grip of the second wave, a detailed analysis of the pandemic situation of the northeastern states was done in the meeting.
Meanwhile, India reports 38,949 cases, 542 deaths in last 24 hours. Recovery rate has increased to 97.28% while active cases now constitute 1.39% of total cases.
( With ANI inputs )
