Rising cases in States a worry: PM

| | New Delhi
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Rising cases in States a worry: PM

Saturday, 17 July 2021 | PNS | New Delhi

Rising cases in States a worry: PM

Halt 3rd wave with ‘test, track, treat, tika’ strategy, Modi tells 6 States 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that rising Covid-19 cases in some States remain a matter of concern and asked them to take proactive measures to rule out a third wave by moving forward with the ‘test, track, treat and tika (vaccine)’ strategy.

Modi made the comments during a virtual meeting with the Chief Ministers of six States — Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha and Maharashtra — with high Covid-19 positivity rates and reviewed measures to tackle the evolving threat.

“There were 80 per cent new Covid cases last week and 84 per cent deaths in these States,” the Prime Minister (PM) said at the meeting and stressed on the ‘Test, Track, Treat and Tika’ strategy to deal with Covid. He said funds were being provided to all States for making available new Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, increasing testing capacity and for all other needs. States must use the `23,000-crore emergency response package announced by the Central Government, he said, to fill the gaps in the healthcare infrastructure.

Modi said that the rising Covid-19 cases across the world are a warning sign for India to not take the threat lightly. Reiterating his concern over unmasked tourists flocking to towns and cities, the Prime Minister said the administration must remind citizens that Covid-19 is not yet over.

To highlight the possible dangers of another wave of the pandemic, he noted that positive cases have been on the rise in Europe and the US at a fast pace, and a similar worrying trend is being witnessed in countries to the east of India like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar.

“This is a warning and big alert to the world and to us. We have to keep reminding people that the coronavirus has not gone,” Modi said, reiterating his concern about scenes of crowds at many places across the country.

Modi also asked the six States to complete the pressure swing adsorption (PSA) plants projects for medical oxygen generation that had been allocated. “I have been informed that of the 332 PSA plants allocated to your States to combat the Covid-19 threat, only 53 have been commissioned,” Modi highlighted. “I request every State to complete all the PSA plants that have been assigned on an emergency basis.”

On reports of children being infected in other parts of the world, the PM said that “we have to take measures to protect our kids. It is a warning for us...we should remind people that corona is still with us.”

Kerala and Maharashtra have been hotspots of Covid-19 cases for long now, accounting for more than 50 per cent of cases in the country. Five of the six States - Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, accounted for 73.4 per cent of the total new cases recorded in July.

The PM highlighted the expert view that if cases keep on rising for a long time, then chances of mutation of the coronavirus will also increase and dangers of new variants will also rise. He asked the CM’s to focus on districts with large numbers of cases.

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