Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday turned his attention to his home constituency. He reviewed the Covid-19 situation in Varanasi  through video conferencing and sought rapid vaccination of all above the age of 45 in the district.

The Prime Minister said the expansion and modernisation of medical infrastructure and facilities in Varanasi in the last 5 to 6 years have helped the city cope with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The holy city has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases like other major cities of Uttar Pradesh. On Saturday, Varanasi accounted for 1,664 of the 27,357 infections reported in Uttar Pradesh.

According to a statement issued by the PMO, during the meeting with the top officials of  district administration, health department and area MLA,  MLC and other public representatives,  the Prime Minister was apprised about testing, the availability of beds, medicines, vaccines, and manpower, etc. for the prevention of coronavirus and proper treatment of infected patients.

Modi  directed the officers to provide all possible assistance to the public at the earliest, said the statement.

The Prime Minister, during the meeting, specifically stressed upon adherence to “Do Gaj Doori Mask Hai Zaroori” by all the people.

Emphasising the importance of vaccination, Modi said that the administration should make all people above 45 years of age aware of this. He also asked the administration to provide all possible assistance to the people of Varanasi with full sensitivity.

According to the PMO’s statement, the Prime Minister was informed that so far 1,98,383 persons have been given the first dose of vaccine  and 35,014 persons have been given both.

The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to all the doctors and medical staff of the country and said that even in the time of crisis, they are following their duty faithfully.

He said that learning from the experiences of the last year, we have to be cautious.

Modi  said that as a representative of Varanasi, he is also constantly taking feedback from the general public.  Pointing out to development of health facilities in

Varanasi, the Prime Minister said the availability of beds, ICUs and oxygen is being increased in Varanasi.

Emphasising the need for ‘Test, Track and Treat’, the prime minister said that like the first wave, the same strategy has to be adopted to win over the virus. He also stressed on making contact tracing and test reports of infected persons available at the earliest.

Modi asked  the officials to discharge all the responsibilities towards patients living in home isolation and their families in a sensitive manner.

Lauding the role played by Varanasi NGOs, the prime minister said that the way they worked with the government should be encouraged.

Modi  said there was a  need for greater vigilance and caution in view of the situation.

Public representatives and officials of Varanasi informed the Prime Minister about the preparations made in the district for the protection and treatment of COVID-19, according to the statement.

The Prime Minister was informed about the control room set up for contact tracing, command and control centre for home isolation, dedicated phone line

ambulance, telemedicine

arrangement from the control room and deployment of the additional rapid response team in urban areas, said the statement.

Amid a rise in the number of Covid cases, the Varanasi district administration has made it mandatory to present a negative RT-PCR test report for people coming to three prominent temples -Vishwanath Temple, Sankatmochan Temple, and Annapurna Temple- in the city.