Bill Gates commends PM Modi's leadership in dealing with COVID-19

New Delhi, Apr 22: Bill Gates on Wednesday wrote a letter to PM Modi, in which he lauded the Prime Minister over handling the Covid-19 pandemic in India.

"We commend your leadership and the proactive measures you and your government have taken to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 infection rate in India, such as adopting a national lockdown, expanding focused testing to identify hot spots for isolation, quarantining, and care, and significantly increasing health expenditures to strengthen the health system response and promote R&D and digital innovation," says Bill Gates in the letter.

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"I'm glad your government is fully utilizing its exceptional digital capabilities in its COVID-19 response and has launched the Aarogya Setu digital app for coronavirus tracking, contact tracing, and to connect people to health services," he adds.

"Grateful to see that you're seeking to balance public health imperatives with the need to ensure adequate social protection for all Indians," he further states.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that 1,486 new cases of coronavirus and 49 deaths have been reported from the country in the last 24 hours. India's death toll has risen to 652.