- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday (16) urged the states where Covid-19 cases are on the rise to take proactive measures to stop a third wave and stressed on moving forward with a strategy of four ‘T’s – test, track, treat and tika (vaccine).
In a meeting with chief ministers of six Indian states, he said apprehensions about a third wave of the pandemic are being expressed with the number of cases in some states remaining a cause of worry.
Modi, who interacted with the chief ministers of four South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala and the eastern state of Odisha and western state of Maharashtra, said 80 per cent of the news cases last week were from these states.
He said the surge in Covid cases in Maharashtra and Kerala is a matter of grave concern and it is very important that the states which are witnessing a rise in the cases take proactive measures to prevent a possible third wave.
“We have to move forward with our strategy of test, track, treat and tika,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said, adding that special attention needs to be paid to micro-containment zones.
Modi also emphasised on the need to prevent crowds from gathering at public places and cautioned over the requirement to be aware, alert and strict. He also said funds were being made available to all states for making new intensive care unit beds available, increasing testing capacity and for other needs.
Recently, the central government released an emergency Covid-19 response package of more than Rs 23,000 crore ($3 billion), the prime minister said.
On Tuesday (13), Modi spoke with the chief ministers of eight north-eastern states of India where the concern over rising Covid cases is growing, through video conferencing. He told the chief ministers that the vaccination drive needs to be continuously ramped up to deal with the devastating pandemic.
India witnessed a desperate situation a few months ago when the second wave of the pandemic hit it, leaving the health infrastructure in a shambles.
More than 31 million people in India have been affected by the coronavirus and more than 412,000 have died. Nearly 40 crore (400 million) people have been vaccinated so far with around eight crore (80 million) getting fully vaccinated.
