PM Modi holds review meeting on COVID-19 situation in country

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday undertook a comprehensive review of the Covid-19 situation in the country. Union Cabinet Ministers including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Piyush Goyal, Mansukh Mandaviya among other ministers and top officials were present in the meeting. PM Modi is reviewing the COVID-19 situation amid an unprecedented surge in fresh coronavirus cases in the country.

During the review session, The Prime Minister was provided with a detailed picture of the COVID-19 outbreak in various states and districts of the country. "He was informed about the 12 states which have more than 1 lakh active cases. PM was also apprised about the districts with high disease burden," noted a press relase issued by The Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

The Prime Minister was briefed about the various efforts being undertaken by the states to boost the healthcare infrastructure. PM Modi has directed that states should be given help and guidance about the leading indicators for ramping up healthcare infrastructure.

PM Modi also discussed the need to ensure quick and holistic containment measures against the spread of COVID-19. "PM noted that an advisory was sent to the states to identify districts of concern where Case positivity is 10% or more & Bed occupancy is more than 60% on either oxygen supported or ICU beds," read the release.

The Prime Minister also reviewed the availability of medicines in the country. PM Modi was briefed about the rapid augmenting of the production of medicines including anti-viral drug Remdesivir, explained the PMO.

PM Modi also reviewed the progress on the vaccination front. A roadmap for scaling up the production of vaccines in the next few months was reviewed. "He was informed that around 17.7 crore vaccines have been supplied to the states. PM also reviewed the state wise trends on vaccine wastage" read the PMO release.

The PMO informed that around 31% of the eligible population over the age of 45 have been administered at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Prime Minister explained the need to sensitise states so that the speed of vaccination doesn't come down. He stated that citizens should be facilitated vaccination against COVID-19 despite lockdowns, and healthcare workers involved in vaccination must not be diverted for other duties.

(Edited by Mohammad Haaris Beg)

Also Read: COVID-19 crisis: Nearly 1,450% jump in containment zones in Delhi in 1 month

Also Read: Nationwide lockdown option 'being discussed', says Centre amid COVID crisis in India