‘States & Centre must formulate common exit strategy once lockdown ends’
United News of India
New Delhi, Apr 2: Stressing that the ‘war’ against the Covid-19 pandemic has just begun and the fight could go to any length as things could nor predicted, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the country must fight to defeat the outbreak.
‘War has just began now. We can never be contended. Let us no mistake. Every 24 hours we must be alert; unitedly we must fight to defeat the outbreak of COVID19,’ the Prime Minister told state Chief Ministers in his meeting via video conferencing on COVID-19 situation in the country.
In a series of tweets, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said that the Prime Minister maintained that 21-day lock down in the country may not go waste.
‘Even after lockdown, follow corona prevention safety measures like wearing mask, cleanliness, distancing etc. Being responsible will save us, the Prime Minister said.
Modi said this was the time to leverage technology to fight the deadly disease and there should not be competition to announce packages.
‘Time is now to leverage technology to fight coronavirus. Let us not compete to announce packages! It is for all of us to be realistic and practical,’ the PM said, according to Khandu’s missive.
‘The fight could go for any length and we can’t predict how things will turn,’ Modi told the chief ministers.
PM Modi that the fight against the pandemic cannot be left alone to health workers, policemen or the govt and it was time for all different ideologies to unite to defeat the disease.
‘This is a fight which must be fought by each of us. This is a war which cannot be left alone to health workers, policemen or the govt. Time is now for all different ideologies to unite to defeat the enemy of mankind,’ the Prime Minister said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan were also present.
Chief Ministers of Bihar Nitish Kumar, his counterparts Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh, Jai Ram Thakur in Himachal Pradesh, Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi and K Chandrasekhara Rao in Telangana were among those who participated via video-conferencing.
States & Centre must formulate common exit strategy once lockdown ends: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said the states and the Centre must formulate a common exit strategy to ensure staggered re-emergence of population once lockdown ends.
Interacting with Chief Ministers of states via video conferencing to discuss measures to combat COVID-19, the Prime Minister said it was important to formulate a common exit strategy to ensure staggered re-emergence of the population once 21-day lockdown ends.
He asked the states to brainstorm and send suggestions for the exit strategy. He reiterated the importance of social distancing in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
The Prime Minister outlined that the common goal for the country is to ensure minimum loss of life. In the next few weeks, testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine should remain the areas of focus.
He highlighted the necessity of maintaining supply of essential medical products, availability of raw material for manufacture of medicines and medical equipment.
Modi maintained that it was necessary to ensure availability of separate, dedicated hospital facilities for COVID-19 patients.
To increase the availability of doctors, he asked the States to tap into the resource pool of AYUSH doctors, organize online training and utilize para-medical staff, NCC and NSS volunteers.
Underscoring the importance of coordinated action and the need to avoid overlaps in efforts of stakeholders, the Prime Minister talked about the need of setting up Crisis Management Groups at district level and appointment of District Surveillance Officers.
He said that data must be taken from the accredited labs for testing – this will ensure congruence in data of district, state and centre. He said it is necessary to ensure staggered release of funds to the beneficiaries under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana to avoid crowding at banks.
