The trend of increase in cases in Maharashtra and Kerala is a cause of concern, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra and Kerala to discuss COVID-related situation. Union Home Minister and Health Minister were also present in the meeting. The chief ministers briefed the PM about the progress of vaccination and steps that are being taken to contain the spread of the virus in their states. They also provided feedback about the vaccination strategy.
The chief ministers also talked about the steps taken to boost medical infrastructure and gave suggestions on dealing with any possible rise of cases in future. They also discussed post-COVID issues being faced by patients and steps being taken to provide assistance in such cases. They gave assurance that they are doing their best to control the surge of infection.
The home minister mentioned that these six states account for more than eighty per cent of the total cases during the month of July, while some of these states have high test positivity rate as well. The union health secretary discussed the COVID cases in the country, and talked about the need to reinforce COVID appropriate behaviour and containment measures in the districts with high case load. He also suggested that opening up of these districts should be done in a graded and calibrated manner.
The Prime Minister said that all of us are at a point where apprehensions of the third wave are continuously expressed. Despite experts giving positive signals due to the downward trends increasing number of cases in few states is still worrisome. He also pointed out that during the last week, 80 per cent cases as well as 84 per cent unfortunate deaths came from the states present in the meeting. Initially, experts believed that states, where the second wave originated, will see the normalisation first. However, increasing numbers in Kerala and Maharashtra are the cause of grave worry, said the PM.
The PM cautioned that similar trends were seen in January-February before the second wave. That’s why he insisted that in the states where cases are rising, we have to take proactive measures to prevent the possibility of the third wave.
He also said, “If the cases keep on rising for long time, chances of mutation of the corona virus will also increase and dangers of new variants will also rise. Therefore, we need to continue with the strategy of Test, Track, Treat and Teeka (vaccination) while putting a special focus on micro-containment zones. Districts with large numbers should be focussed on.”