Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, 4 April, chaired a high-level meeting with senior officials, including NITI Aayog member Vinod Paul, the cabinet secretary, the PM’s principal secretary, and the health secretary, to take stock of the COVID-19 situation in the country.
Modi has directed that central teams, consisting of public health specialists and clinicians, be sent to Maharashtra in view of the high case load and deaths, the Prime Minister’s Office told PTI.
Teams will also be sent to Punjab and Chhattisgarh because of the disproportionate number of deaths being reported in the states.
Awareness Campaign
A special awareness campaign will be organised from 6 to 14 April.
The campaign will spread awareness about COVID appropriate behaviour, with an emphasis on 100 precent mask usage, personal hygiene and sanitation at public places and available health facilities.
The need to ensure effective implementation of containment measures was highlighted by the Prime Minister, besides the need for the involvement of community volunteers in active case search and management of containment zones.
PM Modi said that there is a need to continue Jan Bhagidari and Jan Andolan for a sustainable management of COVID cases.
5-Pronged Strategy to Continue
Modi asserted that if the five-pronged 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 COVID. He said in a tweet:
Although the exact contribution of mutant strains to the escalation of cases in some states remains speculative, the measures to control the pandemic remain the same and hence implementation of various protocols for COVID management are all the more critical in those areas, PMO told PTI.
It was also highlighted that all efforts were underway to secure adequate quantities of vaccines to meet the rising domestic requirements as well as to meet the genuine needs of other countries in the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam’.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)