Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 2nd, 2020 interacted with Chief Ministers of States via video conferencing to discuss measures to combat novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Prime Minister thanked the States for supporting the decision of lockdown due to which India has achieved some success in limiting the spread of COVID-19.
He praised how all the States have worked together as a team to check the spread of the virus. He, however, forewarned that the global situation remains far from satisfactory and informed about speculations of a possible second wave of the spread of the virus in some countries.
Prime Minister outlined that the common goal for the country is to ensure minimum loss of life. In the next few weeks, testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine should remain the areas of focus.
He highlighted the necessity of maintaining the supply of essential medical products, availability of raw material for the manufacture of medicines and medical equipment. He said it is necessary to ensure the availability of separate, dedicated hospital facilities for COVID-19 patients.
To increase the availability of doctors, he asked the States to tap into the resource pool of AYUSH doctors, organize online training and utilize para-medical staff, NCC and NSS volunteers.
Underscoring the importance of coordinated action and the need to avoid overlaps in efforts of stakeholders, Prime Minister talked about the need for setting up Crisis Management Groups at the district level and appointment of District Surveillance Officers.
He said that data must be taken from the accredited labs for testing – this will ensure congruence in data of district, state and centre. He said it is necessary to ensure the staggered release of funds to the beneficiaries under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana to avoid crowding at banks.
Prime Minister said that considering that this is the time to harvest crops, the government has given some relaxation from lockdown but it is necessary to continuously monitor and maintain social distancing as much as possible.
He asked the states to think of other platforms for procuring grains apart from APMC, and explore the possibility of creating pooling platforms for rural areas, like that in ride-sharing apps, which can be used for this purpose.
Photo credit: @narendramodi
