TRACE CONTACTS IN 72 HRS: MODI

80% Active Covid cases in 10 states

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke to the chief ministers of ten states, which have almost 80% of the active corona virus cases, and told them that India will emerge victorious in its battle against the dreaded disease if it is trounced in these states.

These worrisome states are: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Telangana. Discussing the plan ahead in tackling the pandemic, the prime minister set a target of achieving a fatality rate below 1%, which stood at 1.99% on Tuesday.

He further said that all those who come in contact with an infected person will have to be traced within 72 hours. "Our experience so far is that containment, contact tracing and surveillance are the most effective weapons against the pandemic," he added. While advocating the 72-hour formula, the PM especially asked Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Telangana to ramp up testing.

He recounted the experience of Home Minister Amit Shah in preparing a roadmap for successfully tackling the pandemic together with Delhi and nearby states.

The chief ministers gave him feedback on the ground situation and he responded with efforts to ramp up health infrastructure and testing. The chief Ministers, meanwhile, briefed the PM about measures to ramp up testing and assist patients using telemedicine. Some have requested for guidance for conducting sero-surveillance, while also suggesting the setting up of an integrated medical infrastructure in the country. The PM noted the number of daily tests has reached almost 7 lakh and is increasing by the day, which has helped in early identification and containment. The average fatality rate in the country is among the lowest in the world and is continuously going down, it was pointed out.