Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasized that all should follow the five-fold strategy of Testing, Tracing, Treatment, Covid-appropriate behaviour and Vaccination to curb Corona. The PM chaired a high-level meeting to review Covid-19 Pandemic situation and vaccination program in the country.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary to PM, Cabinet Secretary, Home Secretary, Chairperson (Empowered group on Vaccine Administration), Secretary Health, Secretary Pharmaceuticals, Secretary Biotechnology, Secretary AYUSH, DG ICMR, Principal Scientific Advisor to Govt of India and Member NITI Aayog besides other officials.
The five-fold strategy of Testing, Tracing, Treatment, Covid-appropriate behavior and Vaccination if implemented with utmost seriousness and commitment would be effective in curbing the spread of the Pandemic
PM Narendra Modi
The PM has directed the officials for sustainable Covid-19 management, awareness of the Community and its involvement. Modi highlighted the need to enforce COVID appropriate behaviour in the coming days and ensure the availability of beds, testing facilities and timely hospitalization, etc.
It was decided to take up a special campaign for Covid-appropriate behavior with emphasis on 100% mask usage, personal hygiene and sanitation at public places/workplaces and health facilities. That will be organised from 6th April to 14th April 2021.
Special Teams to Maharashtra
The Prime Minister directed that central teams consisting of public health specialists and clinicians be sent to Maharashtra in view of high case load and deaths, and likewise to Punjab and Chhattisgarh because of the disproportionate number of deaths being reported there.
Maharashtra alone contributed 57% of cases
A detailed presentation was made in the meeting which highlighted that there is an alarming rate of growth of Covid19 cases and deaths in the country with 10 states contributing to more than 91% of cases and deaths. It was noted that the situation in Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh is of serious concern. As of date, Maharashtra has contributed 57% of total cases in the country in the last 14 days and 47% of deaths in the country during the same period. In Maharashtra, the total number of new cases per day has touched 47,913 which is more than double its earlier peak. Punjab has contributed 4.5% of the total number of cases in the country in the last 14 days. However, it has contributed 16.3% of the total number of death, which is a matter of serious concern. Similarly, though Chhattisgarh has contributed 4.3% of total cases in the country over the last 14 days, its contribution in total death has exceeded 7% during the same period. The 10 high burden States and UTs are contributing 91.4% of total cases and 90.9% of total deaths in the country.
Decline in Covid-appropriate behavior is the reason
It was emphasized that the reasons for the sharper rise in cases could be mainly attributed to the severe decline in compliance of Covid-appropriate behaviour primarily in terms of use of masks and maintaining ‘2 Gaj ki Doori’, pandemic fatigue and lack of effective implementation of containment measures at the field level.
Although the exact contribution of mutant strains to the escalation of cases in some States remains speculative, the measures to control the pandemic remain the same and hence implementation of various protocols for COVID-19 management are all the more critical in those areas.
Presentation on Vaccination
A brief presentation on the performance of COVID-19 vaccination drive was also made wherein details of the coverage of vaccination in various groups, performance with respect to other countries and analysis of States’ performance was deliberated upon.
It was suggested that daily analysis of performance should be shared with States and UTs as feedback for corrective actions.
