PM Narendra Modi meets ministers, officials to assess India’s response to COVID-19

Ahead of his meeting with the chief ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met senior ministers and officials to review country’s preparedness in fighting coronavirus.

NEW DELHI: Ahead of his meeting with the chief ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (June 13, 2020) met senior ministers and officials to review the country’s preparedness in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a detailed meeting with senior ministers and officials to review India’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting reviewed the national level status and preparation in the context of the pandemic,” a tweet from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

A tweet from PM Modi's official Twitter handle also confirmed the development. 

Reviewed the COVID-19 situation across the nation during a high level meeting. We also reviewed the roadmap ahead, and steps to contain the pandemic in the parts where most cases are coming from. https://t.co/xqW6RszF21 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 13, 2020

The meeting was attended by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Principal Secretary to PM, Cabinet Secretary, Health Secretary, DG-ICMR and other members of the Empowered Groups.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the meeting also took stock of the situation in different states. It was observed that out of total cases two-thirds are in 5 states with an overwhelming proportion of cases in big cities, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

The PM took cognizance of the recommendations of the Empowered Group on city and district wise requirements of hospital beds/isolation beds which will be required and instructed Health Ministry officials to undertake emergency planning in consultation with the States/UTs, the PMO said.

PM Modi suggested that Home Minister and the Health Minister should convene an emergency meeting with L-G, and  CM of Delhi in presence of all senior officials from the Centre, Delhi Govt & Municipal Corporations to plan a coordinated & comprehensive response to handle the rising cases of COVID19, the PMO said.

The present and emerging scenario of the COVID-19 disease in Delhi, which reported its biggest single-day spike with 2,137 cases on Friday, was discussed and the projections for the next two months were deliberated.

In view of the challenges being faced, particularly by the large cities, it was discussed to augment testing as well as the number of beds and services to effectively handle the peak surge of daily cases, the PMO said.

PM Modi will hold a fresh round of consultation with chief ministers of states and Union Territories next week as the country gradually emerges out of coronavirus lockdown. 

According to the PMO, the PM will interact with CMs of 21 states/UT on June 16 and June 17 via video-conference.

PM @narendramodi will interact with state Chief Ministers on the 16th and 17th. pic.twitter.com/RWGeanxgHd — PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 12, 2020

He will hold interaction with the chief ministers of Punjab, Assam, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Himachal, Chandigarh, Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, Ladakh, Puducherry, Arunachal, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadar Nagar Haveli & Daman Diu, Sikkim & Lakshadweep on June 16 and 17.

The meet comes against the backdrop of the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.

Under "Unlock 1.0," the Centre and state governments have eased several restrictions for the public and businesses to ensure that economic activities hit by the lockdown gather momentum.

This would be the Prime Minister's sixth round of consultation with the chief ministers, the last being on May 11. Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with all the chief ministers over the telephone in the last week of May, just before lockdown-4 was to end.

It may be noted that the country reported more than 11,000 cases in the last 24 hours for the very first time since the outbreak, making it the highest jump recorded in a day. 

The total tally has now crossed 3 lakh while the death count is at 8,884, as per the Health Ministry's data in the morning at 8 AM on Saturday. India is currently the fourth-worst affected country in the world after the United States, Brazil and Russia.

While the US has more than 20.48 lakh cases, Brazil and Russia have 8.28 lakh and 5.19 lakh COVID-19 infections respectively.