PM: 2nd wave took us by storm but we’ll win

After successfully confronting the first wave of corona, the country was full of enthusiasm, full of self-confidence, but this storm has shaken the country.

NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday assured people that the central government is helping states battle the Covid-19 pandemic with all its “might” and urged citizens to get vaccinated at a time when the “storm” of infections has “shaken the country”.

The explosion of cases is “testing our patience; it is testing the limits of all of us at enduring misery…”, the Prime Minister said in his monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat, adding: “After successfully confronting the first wave of corona, the country was full of enthusiasm, full of self-confidence, but this storm has shaken the country.”

PM Modi’s remarks come at a time India has topped all global records of daily new cases and several states – including the national capital – are reeling under a massive caseload of infections amid scarcity of hospital beds and oxygen supplies. India on Sunday breached the 350,000 mark for daily Covid-19 cases, and daily deaths linked to the viral illness (at 2,808) neared 3,000 per day threshold, according to HT’s dashboard.

Asserting that the Centre is backing the efforts of the state governments, Modi said: “The Government of India is applying its entire might to give a fillip to the endeavours of State Governments. The State Governments too are trying their best to fulfil their responsibilities.”

The Centre and state governments across the country have been criticised for being caught off-guard by the recent surge of infections. Last week, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to PM Modi to direct neighbouring states not to obstruct the supply of medical oxygen to the Capital city. The city administration has also sought the Centre’s help to get its full quota of oxygen supply to meet rising demand for the element that is crucial for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

Hospitals and medical facilities across the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) on Sunday continued to send distress calls seeking replenishment of their oxygen stocks.