Containment, contact tracing key to coronavirus COVID-19 management: PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (August 1`1, 2020) interacted with the Chief Ministers or representatives of 10 states badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic and advised that containment, contact tracing, and surveillance were key to effective management of the Covid-19 virus in the country.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (August 11, 2020) interacted with the Chief Ministers or representatives of 10 states badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic and advised that containment, contact tracing, and surveillance were key to the effective management of the COVID-19 virus in the country.

The states that participated in the meeting included Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab, Bihar, Gujarat, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

In his address during the video conference meeting, the Prime Minister said that the states with less testing of samples had more coronavirus cases and advised testing to be increased in bigger states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, West Bengal, and Telangana.

The PM said that 80 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in India were reported in these 10 states. The meeting was held to discuss the current coronavirus situation in India and the roadmap to tackle the pandemic.

The Prime Minister recounted how Union Home Minister Amit Shah prepared a roadmap to tackle the coronavirus pandemic in cooperation with Delhi and nearby states.

"The main pillars of this strategy were segregation of containment zones and focus on screening, especially of those in high-risk categories. The results of these steps are there for all to see," he said, adding that steps like better management in hospitals and increasing ICU beds also proved very helpful.

PM Modi pointed out that daily tests in the country had reached almost 7 lakh and were increasing continuously, which had helped in early identification of corona infections and their containment.

The average fatality rate in the country is among the lowest in the world and is continuously going down. "The percentage of active cases is reducing, while the recovery rate is increasing," he said. "Our efforts have given better results, which has increased the confidence of the people and brought down the fear factor."

The Prime Minister said that the target of bringing down the fatality rate below 1 per cent can be achieved soon. "With the Aarogya Setu app, we can do our work better; due to this, home quarantine facility is being implemented in a better way," he added.

During the meeting, the Chief Ministers of Tamil and Punjab sought more funds from the Centre to deal with the COVID-9 pandemic. “We've received Rs 512.64 crore from Centre in 2 tranches under Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness package out of Rs 712.64 crore allotted to state. I request this package may be stepped up to Rs 3,000 crore as my earlier request,” Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami said at the video conference meeting with PM.

“As we have already fully exhausted State Disaster Response & Mitigation Fund, I also request an ad-hoc grant of Rs 1,000 crore from NDRF immediately to fight the pandemic. Releasing pending CMR subsidy of Rs 1,321 crore at this time will facilitate paddy procurement, the Tamil Nadu CM added.

To make up for the shortfall, Tamil Nadu may be allocated 9,000 crore rupees special grant to combat COVID-19 and its impacts on the state’s economy. The GST compensation for April-June, 2020 may be released early,” the Tamil Nadu CM urged the PM.

On his turn, Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh sought from PM Narendra Modi a liberal financial package for states to fill the collection gap caused by the pandemic, and also flexibility on COVID-19-related terms of expenditure in SDRF.

During his interaction with PM Modi, Capt Amarinder Singh said the current cap of 35% in State Disaster Relief Fund for COVID-19 related expenditure, as per MHA guidelines, is not sufficient to meet current requirements.

Citing the state’s rising cases of COVID, which have gone up to 24891 with 604 deaths, the CM urged PM Modi to review the UGC decision on mandatory exams for exit classes to be held by September 30.

The meeting assumed significance as these 10 states have a high population density and the idea is to bring down the virus caseload. This was the seventh video conference of the Prime Minister with the states CMs since the outbreak of the pandemic.

This was also the first meeting of the PM with chief ministers during Unlock 3.0 on the coronavirus pandemic. The country has so far reported a total of 22,68,675 coronavirus cases, including 15,83,489 patients who have recovered. As many as 2,52,81,848 samples have been tested.

The Chief Ministers requested further guidance by the Health Ministry for conducting sero-surveillance, while also suggesting the setting up of an integrated medical infrastructure in the country.

They also provided feedback on the ground situation in their respective states. They praised PM Modi`s leadership in the successful management of the pandemic and thanked him for his constant guidance and support.

They informed the Prime Minister about corona tests conducted, steps taken to increase testing, use of telemedicine and efforts to ramp up the health infrastructure.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan were among those present in the meeting.