PM discusses Covid strategy with officials
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held an online interaction with chief ministers and district magistrates of the districts that have been worst affected in the second wave of the pandemic and asked them to convey their best practices to him so that these can be shared widely. He also called the district administration “field commanders” who are in the frontline of the war against the pandemic.
“All of you have an important role in this war against Corona. You are the field commander of this war in a way, who give shape to the policy, and fight on the ground and take decisions according to the situation,” he said. The PM referred to local containment zones, aggressive testing and providing correct and complete information to the people as “weapons against this virus”.
The interaction was aimed at receiving feedback from the states on the measures taken to reduce the spread of the infection, ramp up medical infrastructure and other initiatives taken by the administration.
The PM also told the administrators that they have the freedom to make changes to any pol
icy announced by the government to make it more effective on the ground.
“I want to tell you… if you think that the government policy at the district level needs innovation in the policy to strengthen it you have the freedom to do so. If you think the innovation that you have done is good for the whole district or the country, it should be sent to the government. If you think there is a need to make any change in the policy, give us that feedback also without any hesitation because the war is such that we all need to think together and innovate together,” the PM said.
In the wake of complaints from states over the availability of the vaccines, the PM said efforts are being made to ensure that vaccination is strengthened and there is a plan underway to ensure that states get a 15-day advance schedule of how much vaccine is available. “Vaccine wastage at all districts must be stopped and optimum utilisation is a must,” he said, adding that all states must alleviate fears about the vaccines that are a medium of fighting the pandemic.
The PM also cautioned that while cases are going up in several states and down in some others, there is a need to remain vigilant wherever the numbers are dipping.
“We have to stop the scale of infection from spreading by taking the correct steps such as testing, tracking, isolation and adopting Covid appropriate behavior,” he said.
He also called for more attention in rural areas as well as in far off places. “We have to ensure that there is health infrastructure to meet increasing challenges and increase in cases, this should be done on a priority basis,” he said.
The PM said during the first wave last year many villages had insulated themselves from the spread by devising their own best practices.
“Last time, there was no lockdown of the farming sector. I was astonished to see how villagers were maintaining social distancing even while working in the fields. They grasped the information and modified it according to their needs. This is the strength of villages,” he said.
While he asked the states to ensure strict compliance to covid appropriate behavior, he said attention should also be paid to “ease of living” to ensure minimal inconvenience to people and called for strict action against those involved in black marketing.
The PM also instructed the administrators to keep up the morale of those on frontlines and of those in home isolation. “As a large section of people are in home isolation, it creates confidence in them to fight the challenge better if somebody from the administration visits them and supplies oxymeters or drugs. This should be done at all district levels,” the PM said.
He said all the preparations required for the installation and functioning should be done in states where hospitals are scheduled to receive oxygen plants through the PM Cares fund.
The PM said with the monsoon around the corner, administrations should speed up mapping their needs and making arrangements such as ensuring power supply to the hospitals.
Union home minister Amit Shah and health secretary Rajesh Bhushan were also present in the meeting with the CM’s from states such as Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The district magistrates represented Patna, Bengaluru urban, Indore, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Shimoga, Kolar.