The meeting comes after the Supreme Court on Monday, gave two days’ time to states and the central government to disclose their preparedness to combat the spike in infections and the expected rise in cases in the coming months. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan was concerned particularly about the prevailing situation in Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Assam.
In the meeting, HM Amit Shah in order to contain the current surge in the Coronavirus situation came up with a three-point plan:
* In the first point, the HM asked the CMs of the states and the Union Territories to ensure that fatality rates in their respective states do not cross the 1 per cent mark. Currently, the country has recorded 1,34,218 deaths in total due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Maharashtra recording 46653 the maximum number of fatalities as compared to the other states. At Present, the fatality rate of the country stands at 1.4 per cent.
* Secondly, Shah asked the CMs to make sure that the number of new cases should not exceed 5 per cent of the total existing cases. India till now has recorded 9.17 million cases out of which 8.6 million have recovered and the total number of active cases in the country stands at 4,38,667.
* In the third point, Shah told the CMs to make containment zones dynamic, at present the data from containment zones is collected every 15 days, with the new plan the data will be collected every week. Officials must visit the red zones every week and based on data collected, change the status of a particular area.
Highlights of PM Modi's Covid-19 review meeting with CMs:
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal at the review meeting asked for the PM's intervention to get rid of the pollution in the city due to stubble burning in the neighboring states, as it played a key role in the high severity of the third wave of Covid-19 in the national capital.
Kejriwal even asked the PM for reservation of additional 1,000 ICU beds in the central government-run hospitals in Delhi for coronavirus patients till the third wave of the infection lasts in the Capital.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray informed PM Modi that he is in constant touch with Adar Poonawalla of Serum Institute and that the state has formed a task force to ensure timely distribution of vaccine and executing the vaccination program.
Citing the situation of West Bengal, CM Mamata Banerjee told the PM, that the people in Bengal have become ignorant of the threat and are not following the protocols like maintaining social distancing and wearing masks. She even asked the center to clear the GST dues owed by the center.
Speaking at the virtual meeting with the CMs of the states and the UTs, PM Modi praised the joint efforts of the centers and the states and said India as compared to other countries in a better position in terms of fatality and recovery rates. But also warned, that seeing such good recovery rates may make people careless as they think the virus is weak and they can recover soon.
Citing the availability and distribution of the vaccine PM Modi said, “Safety is as important as speed for us, whichever vaccine India will give to its citizens will be safe on all scientific standards. Vaccine distribution strategy will be chalked out in collective coordination with states. States must also start working cold storage facilities.”
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“Government of India is keeping a track of each development in vaccine development. We are in touch with Indian vaccine developers and manufacturers. We are also in touch with global regulators, governments of other countries, multinational orgs & international companies,” He further added.
PM Modi later urged the state to come up with a detailed plan on how to take the vaccine to the lowest levels and also asked the states to start working cold storage facilities.
“I urge states to send detailed plans soon on how they plan to take vaccine to lowest levels. It'll help us in making decisions as your experiences are valuable. I hope for your pro-active participation. Vaccine work is ongoing but I request you there should be no carelessness,” said PM Modi.