Noting that administration was appearing lax in many states amid a rising number of COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged chief ministers to strengthen their efforts for the next 2-3 weeks to check the spread of the virus on a “war-footing.” He also called for observing a vaccine festival between April 11-14 to inoculate the maximum number of eligible beneficiaries.
In his interaction with chief ministers to discuss the COVID-19 situation and the ongoing vaccination drive, Modi asserted that the country had much more resources to deal with the virus than before and the focus should be on micro-containment zones.
“There is a need to improve the governance system. I understand that because of the one-year battle, the system can experience tiredness and there can be laxity, but we must tighten it for 2-3 weeks and strengthen the governance,” he said.
Modi emphasised on ‘Test, Track, Treat’, Covid-appropriate behaviour and Covid management to contain the pandemic.
Along with public participation, our hard-working doctors and health-care staff have helped a lot in handling the situation and are still doing it, he said.
“With administration appearing lax in many states, rise in cases has increased problems. To stop the spread of the virus, there is a need to work on a war-footing,” he said.
The daily count of positive cases has reached a new record high of over 1.26 lakh, despite having dipped to about 20,000 a few weeks back.
At a high-level meeting with senior officials, Prime Minister Modi had on Sunday reviewed the COVID-19 situation and vaccination exercise in the country amid the “alarming rate of growth” in infections and deaths.
Modi had said the five-fold strategy of testing, tracing, treatment, COVID-appropriate behaviour and vaccination, if implemented with utmost seriousness and commitment, would be effective in curbing the spread of the pandemic, according to an official statement that was released after the meeting.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the AIIMS here, and asked those eligible for the shot to take it soon to defeat the virus.
He had taken his first jab on March 1 at the hospital.
“Got my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS today. Vaccination is among the few ways we have, to defeat the virus. If you are eligible for the vaccine, get your shot soon. Register on “http://CoWin.Gov.In,” he tweeted.
The prime minister also posted a picture of him receiving the jab.
Modi has taken Covaxin, India’s homegrown vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech.
Official sources said the two nurses who administered the vaccine to the prime minister on Thursday are P Niveda from Puducherry and Nisha Sharma from Punjab.
Niveda was also involved in administering him the first shot on March 1.
Sharma, a nursing officer at the hospital, said they were told in the morning that Modi is visiting the hospital for receiving the vaccine’s second dose, and described the meeting with the prime minister as a “memorable moment”.