States seeing fall in covid-19 infections need to be more vigilant: Modi

At least 2,63,533 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours. (HT_PRINT)Premium
At least 2,63,533 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours. (HT_PRINT)
 3 min read . Updated: 18 May 2021, 07:48 PM IST Neetu Chandra Sharma

States seeing decreasing covid-19 infections need to be more vigilant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday. He was interacting with field officials from States and Districts regarding their experience in handling the Covid-19 pandemic through video conference.

“Every district in the country is equally different and has its own unique challenges. Local containment zones, aggressive testing and correct and complete information to the people are the weapons against the virus," said the prime minister. “At this time, the number of corona infections are decreasing in some states as well as increasing in several other states. There is a need to be more vigilant in the face of decreasing infections. The fight is to save every single life and the focus should be in rural and inaccessible areas," said Modi requesting the officials to make the relief material easily accessible for the rural population.

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The officials shared their experiences and apprised the Prime Minister about the innovative steps that were undertaken to manage the recent surge of cases. They also informed about the efforts being undertaken to augment the medical infrastructure and capacity building in rural areas. The Prime Minister asked the officials to compile the best practices and innovative steps so that these may be used in other districts of the country.

The Prime Minister advised the officials also to take care of the ease of living of every citizen of their district. He stressed on the need to stop infection and at the same time ensure unhindered flow of essential supplies. Modi said that work is being done rapidly to install oxygen plants in hospitals in every district of the country through PM CARES Fund and these plants have already started functioning in many hospitals.

The Prime Minister spoke about how getting vaccinated is instrumental to lowering the severity of the disease and reducing hospitalisations and mortalities. He said continuous efforts are being made to increase the supply of Corona vaccine on a very large scale.

“Health Ministry is streamlining the system and process of vaccination. Attempts are being made to give a schedule of the next 15 days to the states in advance. There is a need to stop vaccine wastage," said Modi.

“The convenience of the people increases when information of bed availability and vaccine availability are easily made available. In the same way, black marketing should be curbed and strict action should be taken against those who do so. Mobilizing the front-line workers by keeping their morale high," he said.

At least 2,63,533 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours. The daily new covid-19 cases being registered in India are now less than 3 Lakhs consecutively for the second day. A net decline of 1,63,232 cases is recorded in the active caseload in the last 24 hours. India’s daily new cases trajectory and recovered cases is depicted below since 13th March 2021, according to the union health ministry data.

The National Mortality Rate currently stands at 1.10%. 4,329 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. Ten States account for 75.98% of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (1000). Karnataka follows with 476 daily deaths, the union health ministry data showed.

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