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New Delhi : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on June 18, 2020, emphasised on the need to have a unified strategy in the Delhi-NCR region to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Chairing a meeting here to review the preparations for management of COVID-19, Shah said that keeping in view the close knit urban structure of the NCR region, it is necessary for all authorities concerned in Delhi and the NCR region to come together to tackle the virus.
The Union Home Minister said that to control the virus, there is a need to test more and it is also necessary to identify and treat those who are diagnosed as positive. He said there is a need to work in a Mission Mode. Shah said the Expert Committee under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog Member Dr V K Paul has fixed a price of Rs 2,400 for COVID-19 tests and if the price for such tests are higher in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, the State Governments could decide to lower their prices after internal consultations.
Shah also told the meeting that the committee also decided on rates for COVID-19 beds and treatment, and these rates could also be applied to hospitals in the NCR region after consultations, according to a PIB release. Shah also said it would be better to conduct COVID19 testing through the new Rapid Antigen methodology approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), as it will ramp up testing capacity and will help in early diagnosis and early treatment.
Shah directed officials from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana Governments to submit information about COVID-19 beds, ventilators, oxygen cylinders, ICU and ambulances available with them and their plan to augment these resources by July 15, 2020 to the Union Home Ministry so that a common strategy can be devised in the National Capital Region (NCR) in the battle against the virus.
Shah assured all possible support from the Central Government to the authorities in the NCR region in their efforts against the virus. The meeting was attended by the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal besides senior officials from the Union Government, Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other senior officers from Delhi-NCR.