Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked the chief ministers of the seven states worst-affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to focus on ‘effective testing, tracing, treatment, surveillance and clear messaging’.
Addressing the chief ministers and other senior officials of these seven states during a Covid-19 review meeting, PM Modi said that the state governments should try and collect data on best practices from local communities.
“There are more than 700 districts in the country but only 60 districts in seven states are a cause of worry. I suggest CMs hold a virtual conference with people at the district/block level for seven days. We have to learn from the best practices from across the states,” PM Modi said.
Seven states – Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Punjab – account for more than 63 per of the active cases in the country. They also account for 65.5 per cent of the total confirmed cases and 77 per cent of the total deaths, a statement had said earlier.
During the meeting, PM Modi asked the states to focus on the micro-containment zones to manage the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Effective messaging is also necessary because most Covid-19 infections are without symptoms. In such a situation, rumours may rise. It might raise doubts in the minds of the people that testing is bad. Some people also make the mistake of underestimating the severity of infection,” PM Narendra Modi said.
The prime minister also argued for no further disruption in the flow of medicines at the state borders. “India has ensured the supply of life-saving medicines all over the world even in difficult times. We have to work together to see that the medicines easily reach from one state to another,” he said at the virtual meeting.
The PM also urged the people of the nation to make masks a part of their lives.
#WATCH It is difficult to make wearing masks a habit, but we will not be able to get the desired results if we don’t make it a part of our daily life, says PM Modi in a meeting with Chief Ministers of seven states pic.twitter.com/V9m7KAzRgG
— ANI (@ANI) September 23, 2020