Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 13, 2021, interacted with Chief Ministers of the North-Eastern states on Covid-19 situation. The interaction was attended by the Chief Ministers of Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur ,and Assam.
The Chief Ministers thanked the Prime Minister for timely action in handling the Covid pandemic. They appreciated his special care and concern for the North-East States. Apart from the Chief Ministers, Union Ministers for Home, Defence, Health, DONER,and other Ministers were present during the interaction.
The Chief Ministers briefed the PM about the progress of vaccination in their states and steps that are being taken to take vaccination to far flung areas. They also discussed the issue of vaccine hesitancy and measures being taken to overcome it. They gave an account of improvement in medical infrastructure to better tackle Covid cases and the support lent through the PM CARES Fund. They gave assurance of taking timely action to bring down the positivity rate as well as the number of cases in their States.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah talked about the reduction in the overall daily number of cases but forewarned that this should not lead to one becoming lax and letting one’s guard down. He said that some areas of the country are witnessing high positivity rates. He emphasised on the importance of testing, tracing, tracking and vaccination.
Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Modi lauded the people, health workers, and the governments of Northeastern states for their hard work in the fight against the pandemic and creating infrastructure for testing, treatment, and vaccination despite the difficult terrain of the states. He expressed his concern over the growing number of cases in some districts and stressed the need to catch these signals and take strict actions at the micro level, according to a PIB release.
Noting the fast mutating nature of the virus, the PM advised strict monitoring of the mutation and keep track of all variants. He informed that the experts are studying the mutations and their impact. In such scenario, prevention and treatment are critical, he said emphasising on ovid appropriate behaviour. He emphasized that utility of physical distancing, mask, vaccine is clear. Similarly, strategy of testing tracking and treatment is a proven strategy.
Acknowledging the impact of pandemic on tourism and business, the Prime Minister strongly cautioned against crowding at hill stations without observing proper precautions. Rejecting the argument that people want to enjoy before the arrival of the third wave, he said that this needs to be understood that the third wave will not come on its own. He said that the main question in our mind should be how to prevent the third wave. Experts are repeatedly warning against carelessness and crowding as they can lead to massive surge in cases.
The Prime Minister said that in the ‘vaccine for all-free for all’ campaign of the central government, Northeast too has the same importance and we need to keep accelerating the vaccination process. To deal with the myths pertaining to vaccination and mobilising people, the PM asked to enlist the help of social, educational institutes, celebrities and also the organisations of religious faith. He asked to accelerate the vaccination drive in the areas where spread of the virus is expected.
Referring to the recent Cabinet approval of Rs 23,000 crore package for improving the infrastructure for testing and treatment, the Prime Minister said that the package will help in strengthening the health infrastructure of Northeast. This package will expedite testing, diagnostics, genome sequencing in Northeast. He informed that hundreds of oxygen plants are being established in the country through PM-CARES and Northeast too got about 150 plants.
The Prime Minister underlined the need to establish temporary hospital due to the geographical situation of the northeast. He also asked to prepare trained manpower as oxygen plants, ICU wards, and new machines that are reaching the block level hospitals will need this manpower. Noting the capacity of 20 lakh tests per day in the country, the PM highlighted the need to augment the testing infrastructure in the affected district.