The coronavirus lockdown had sparked a migrant exodus from Delhi as thousands attempted to make their way back home.
Amid discussions on ways to ease lockdown restrictions after May 3, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Thursday suggested a six-point strategy for ‘possible road ahead’ and said that for the sake of livelihoods, the economy should kickstart with full supply chains.
Kant tweeted, “Possible Road Ahead: Hyper-localisation in Red areas with ruthless containment; 2. Physical distancing & Masks =New Fashion; 3.Virus can bounce back; 4. Look after 60+ with Co-morbidity; 5.Vaccine still far away; 6.For livelihoods, economy should kickstart with full supply chain.”
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Kant’s comments assume significance as he is heading one of the 11 empowered groups of officers that have been entrusted with formulating the response against the pandemic.
Earlier in the day, Kant and Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan interacted with civil society organisations and NGOs over video conferencing.
During the interaction, Vardhan underlined the importance of social distancing in the fight against Covid-19. “Dr Harsh Vardhan reiterated that Social Distancing and lockdown continue to be the most potent social vaccine in containment of Covid-19,” said a statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare after the interaction.
“He highlighted that India was one of the first countries to prepare a strategy at national and international level along with International Organizations like WHO to tackle Covid-19. The Government of India has taken pre-emptive and pro-active action and escalated the response as per the situation,” said the statement.
The minister said the country has done better on “all our parameters” compared to the rest of the world. “And I am sure in the coming few weeks, we should be able to win (a) decisive war against Covid-19,” he said. Urging everyone to follow guidelines issued by the Health Ministry, Vardhan asked people to use face covers; take care of high-risk populations and follow lockdown and social distancing.