Chandigarh: PM Narendra Modi while addressing the Chief Ministers of the country via video-conferencing said at the meeting that the government will have to think about moving forward and hinted about a holistic approach.
Appreciating the role of the states PM said “In this entire fight, the world has said that we have been successful in fighting the threat of Covid-19. State governments have played a major role in this fight. They have understood their responsibility and served their roles in countering this threat.”
According to health ministry data, 1,736 Covid-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours - the highest number of recoveries recorded in one day. The Union Health Ministry on May 1 classified 733 districts as 130 in the red zone, 284 in the orange zone, and 319 in the green zone, taking into consideration the incidence of cases, doubling rate, the extent of testing, and surveillance feedback
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video conference with chief ministers on Monday, about a week before the third phase of lockdown ends on 7th May.
“We stressed that people should stay where they are. But it’s human nature to want to go home and so we had to modify or make some changes in our decisions. Despite that, we have to make sure that the disease doesn’t spread and go to villages, that’s our big challenge,” he added talking about the movement of migrants.
Unlike previous meetings where only select CMs were shortlisted to speak, this time all CMs were given an opportunity to share their opinion. This is PM Modi’s fifth video-conference with the chief ministers on tackling the Covid-19 outbreak.
Home Minister Amit Shah, who was also present in the meeting, highlighted the importance of the Aarogya Setu mobile application and urged the chief ministers to popularise its download as it will help in tracking the spread of the virus.
At the previous meetings, the Prime Minister has taken suggestions from chief ministers on the contours and extension of the national lockdown, put in place to check the spread of infections.
Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba met state chief secretaries on Sunday and advised them to ensure that “green zones” - areas that are largely COVID-19-free - remain insulated from the spread of the pathogen, according to an official who was present during the interaction and spoke on condition of anonymity. The states were also asked to allow unhindered movement of health care workers, the official added.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had said on Sunday no Covid-19 case has been reported in 10 states and union territories in the last 24 hours (between Saturday and Sunday) and the recovery rate has increased to over 30 percent, asserting India was “moving fast on the path of success” in the fight against the pandemic.
According to health ministry data, 1,736 Covid-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours - the highest number of recoveries recorded in one day.
The Union Health Ministry on May 1 classified 733 districts as 130 in the red zone, 284 in the orange zone, and 319 in the green zone, taking into consideration the incidence of cases, doubling rate, the extent of testing, and surveillance feedback.
The general sentiment in the government appears to be against rolling back the relaxations towards a gradual un-lockdown. The third phase of the lockdown will end on May 17.
The interaction was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan among others.
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (Andhra Pradesh), Amarinder Singh (Punjab), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh) and Pema Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh) were among the CMs who attended the virtual conference.
Unlike previous meetings where only select CMs were shortlisted to speak, this time all CMs were given an opportunity to share their opinion.
In a meeting on Sunday, state chief secretaries had called for a calibrated stepping up of economic activities in a video conference with the cabinet secretary. The Central government is, however, still undecided on lifting the lockdown completely.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with chief ministers on Monday. (Source: MP CMO/Twitter)