Naveen takes MLAs on board in fight against coronavirus

BHUBANESWAR:  After a gap of nearly four months, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday took on board the ruling BJD MLAs in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic, asking them to abide by all the guidelines to inspire confidence among the people.Addressing a virtual meeting of the BJD Legislature Party, the Chief Minister said the situation of corona pandemic is the biggest challenge in public life and yet, has also provided a unique opportunity to serve people. “You are very important. People have reposed faith in your leadership. In your every act, every move, every step you should inspire our workers and people at large to follow Covid guidelines and take care of themselves and their families,” he said.

The Chief Minister said that Odisha has entered the most challenging phase in the fight against Covid-19 and there is still a long way to go despite the State having one of the highest recovery rates in the country and one of the lowest mortality rates anywhere.Naveen said since monsoon has arrived and almost 10,000 people are coming to Odisha everyday, mostly from hotspot areas, it is the responsibility of MLAs to monitor the system at the ward-level to prevent spread of coronavirus. He asked the MLAs to scale up Jeevan Bindu blood donation programmes, take special care of elderly persons and ensure awareness on use of face masks and social distancing.

Stating that each of the 50,000 Covid Care Committees at ward-level is provided `10,000 from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF), he said each panchayat should have Covid Care Homes for which `50,000 has been sanctioned. He asked the MLAs to ensure that workers in every village should volunteer in all Covid-related programmes. “But avoid public gatherings and use technology and other methods to connect,” he said.

The Chief Minister said though seven lakh people have returned to Odisha after lockdown, the State could manage the situation because of the unique concept of temporary medical centre. Odisha is one of the few states which bears the entire cost of Covid care end-to-end which includes, test, hospital accommodation, treatment charges, medicines and transport, he said.   He said that approach of the State has been scientific whether it is lockdown or shutdown. Along with empowered sarpanchs and community institutions, the dedicated hardwork done by Covid warriors and the sacrifice of four and half crore people of the State has made Odisha a model in Covid management, he said.