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| We must stop emerging ‘second peak’ of Covid-19, PM tells Chief Ministers | | | Agencies
NEW DELHI, Mar 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said it was critical to stop what he called the “emerging second peak” of Covid with decisive steps including micro-containment zones, increased testing and enforcement of restrictions like masks, at a meeting with Chief Ministers amid a worrying spike in Covid cases in some states.
“If we don’t stop this pandemic right now, then there could be a nationwide outbreak. We have to immediately stop the emerging second peak and take big and decisive steps,” PM Modi told the Chief Ministers.
“The self-confidence that we gained in our corona fight should not turn into overconfidence. Our success should not be the reason for carelessness,” he warned.
He stressed that initiatives needed to be taken without creating a state of panic among people.
Speaking on the districts that had seen a surge in the past few days, the PM said it was worth considering that these were also the zones where testing and vaccination was comparatively less.
The Prime Minister called for increased RT-PCR tests for proper testing and tracking of the infection and a focus on smaller towns.
“Over 70 per cent of the tests should be RTPCR. States should not rely on Rapid Antigen Tests,” said PM Modi, referring to Kerala, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh.
The Prime Minister noted that tier 2 and 3 towns, which had escaped the first wave, were getting affected this time round. It would not take much for the virus to spread to villages from there, which would overwhelm the health care system of the country, he said.
PM Modi also cautioned against vaccine wastage in some states. “This is something that must not happen and needs urgent attention,” he said.
Meanwhile The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how the world can come together to fight a common threat, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and added the lessons from the pandemic must not be forgotten.
Speaking at the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, the Prime Minister said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that in an inter-dependent and inter-connected world, no country – rich or poor, in the east or west, north or south – is immune to the effect of global disasters.” “On one hand, the pandemic has shown us how impacts can quickly spread across the world. On the other hand, it has shown how the world can come together to fight a common threat. The pandemic has shown us that the innovation to address global challenges can come from anywhere,” the Prime Minister added.
He called for the fostering of the global ecosystem that supports innovation in all parts of the world and it is transferred to places that are in need. “The year 2021 promises to be a year of swift recovery from the pandemic. The lessons from the pandemic must not be forgotten. They apply to not only public health disasters but to other disasters as well,” he added. While scientists across the world have developed COVID-19 vaccines, the Prime Minister — drawing attention to the looming climate crisis — said that there are no vaccines for climate change further reiterating that it would take sustained and concentrated efforts to mitigate climate change.
CDRI is a partnership of national governments, UN agencies, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms that aim to promote resilience of new infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks in support of sustainable development. |
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