Chief Ministers Inform PM Modi About Preparations Being Taken By Their States To Tackle Surge Of COVID-19 Cases

New Delhi: On Tuesday (November 24), Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual meeting with chief ministers to review the coronavirus situation in the country. In the meeting, PM Modi asked states and union territories to share feedback and the containment strategies with him on how their states are preparing to cope up with the COVID-19 cases surge.

Chief Ministers of eight worst Covid-hit states — Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi, Bengal, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh — had attended the meeting along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

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Informing how Kerala is overcoming the COVID-19 surge currently, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi that a total of 1.24 lakh new beds have been added to 1,426 hospitals in the state. He said,

We have been able to reduce the pressure on hospitals with the widespread opening of COVID Firstline Treatment Centers (FLTCs). In addition to the existing hospital beds, 1.24 lakh new beds have been set up in 1,426 institutions. The government has set up extensive facilities for testing as well. There are currently 2,113 labs for testing in both the government and private sectors and about 58.09 lakh tests have already been conducted. Of which, about 30 per cent were RT-PCR tests.

Chief Minister Vijayan also informed that the COVID-19 cases in the state were showing a declining trend since the second week of October. He added,

It is a relief that the number of recoveries is more than positive cases nowadays. So far 5.66 lakh people have been affected by the COVID-19 and 5 lakh of them were cured. The mortality rate was reduced to 0.4 per cent. The mortality rate has been reduced due to the effective implementation of the strategy of early detection and treatment and facilities in the public health sector. At present, the positivity rate is 10.54 per cent (as on November 23). The positivity rate has been declining for two weeks.

Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel also said that now the spread of COVID-19 has been brought under control in the state and about 23,000 screening tests are conducted daily. Giving thumbs up to the female health volunteers in the state, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said,

Mitanins (female health volunteers) have done commendable work for the prevention of COVID-19 infection. Now, the number of beds with oxygen facility and ICU beds has also been increased. All the medical colleges in the state have RT-PCR facility. Four new labs have been established for testing in the state. From October month, the number of new cases has gradually declined. The number of COVID cases has decreased by 50 per cent, but there is no reduction in the number of tests being conducted.

On the other hand, talking about vaccine distribution, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that when available, the COVID-19 vaccine would be distributed in four stages, beginning with frontline health workers. He said,

In the second step, we will distribute it to the other workers like police officers, sanitation workers and other agency workers. In the third step, we will distribute it to the people over the age of 50, and in the fourth step, seriously ill people will get it.

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Talking about vaccine distribution and informing people across the state on the updates, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that the state is fully prepared with a system in place for vaccine distribution whenever it is available, with a priority for frontline health workers, people above 50 years of age and with comorbidities. The Odisha CM warned people to remain cautious and practise social distancing even after the vaccine is made available. He added,

Though we have prepared for the seamless vaccination programme to save every life on a priority basis, we can’t lower our guard, even if when the vaccine is available. Masks are still the best vaccine we have against the COVID-19 pandemic and we need to ensure that we all continue to wear masks, practice social distancing and hygiene to protect ourselves against COVID-19. Let’s resolve not to take the virus lightly.

Currently, the national daily COVID-19 case count has remained below 50,000 for some time, several urban centres have witnessed a surge, resulting in enforcement of several measures, including curfews in some cities. India recorded 44,376 new coronavirus infections and 481 deaths because of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s COVID-19 caseload to 92.22 lakh, while the recoveries crossed 86.4 lakh with active cases at 4,38,667, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

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(With inputs from agencies)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.