PM reviews alarming COVID situation in country, 10 states account for 91 pc cases
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reviewed the COVID-19 situation and vaccination exercise in the country amid an “alarming rate of growth” in infections and deaths, with 10 states contributing to more than 91 percent of them.
Modi directed that Central teams consisting of public health specialists be sent to Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh, where the situation was of serious concern, and said the five-fold strategy of testing, tracing, treatment, COVID-appropriate behaviour and vaccination if implemented with utmost seriousness and commitment would be effective in curbing the pandemic’s spread, according to an official statement.
The meeting came on a day India recorded 93,249 new infections, the highest single-day rise so far this year that took the total COVID-19 cases to 1,24,85,509, according to Union Health Ministry data. The reasons for the sharp rise in cases could be mainly attributed to the severe decline in compliance of COVID-appropriate behaviour, especially in the use of masks and social distancing, pandemic fatigue and lack of effective implementation of containment measures at the field level, said the statement released after the Prime Minister’s review meeting with senior officials. Modi called for avoiding mortality under all circumstances by ramping up healthcare infrastructure and other measures. “A detailed presentation was made which highlighted that there is an alarming rate of growth of cases and deaths in the country with 10 states contributing to more than 91 percent of cases and deaths,” the statement said.
