The government said a severe decline in compliance with safe practices such as wearing masks and maintaining physical distance could be the reason for the sharp rise in cases. The PM directed central teams comprising public health specialists and clinicians be sent to Maharashtra in view of high caseload and deaths, and also to Punjab and Chhattisgarh due to a disproportionate number of deaths, an official release said.
On the question of vaccine supplies, the statement said, “It was informed that vaccine manufacturers are ramping up production capacity and are also in discussion with other domestic and offshore companies to augment. It was highlighted that all efforts are underway to secure adequate quantities of vaccines to meet rising domestic requirements as well as to meet the genuine needs of other countries in the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.”
Modi reviewed Covid-related issues, including the ongoing vaccination drive, rising cases, deaths due to the infection, health infrastructure, logistics as well as vaccine production status.
The review noted that Maharashtra contributed 57% of total cases and 47% of deaths in the last 14 days. Besides, the total daily new cases in the state touched 47,913, more than double its earlier peak. While the share of Covid-19 cases in Punjab and Chhattisgarh is still relatively lower, the number of deaths reported from these two states has raised concerns.
Punjab has contributed 4.5% of the total number of cases in the country in the last 14 days. However, it has contributed 16.3% of the total deaths, which is a matter of concern. Similarly, though Chhattisgarh has contributed 4.3% of total cases over the last 14 days, its contribution in total deaths has exceeded 7% in the same period, the Centre said.
The 10 high burden states and UTs are contributing 91.4% of total cases and 90.9% of total deaths in the country. Apart from Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh, other states like Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have also shown an upward trajectory in daily new cases over the last three weeks.
On Saturday, 93,249 new cases were recorded across the country, taking the active caseload to 6.9 lakh. Besides, 513 new deaths due to Covid-19 were reported across the country during the day. Of this, Maharashtra alone accounted for 277 deaths. In better news, India logged 30 lakh vaccinations for the second day on Saturday. In total, 7.6 crore doses were administered till 8.30 pm on Sunday. Of this, more than 6.5 crore people received their first dose while around 1 crore people were fully vaccinated with second doses.
During the review, the PM stressed on the need to ensure availability of beds, testing facilities and timely hospitalisation to reduce fatalities.
Underlining the importance to continue “Jan Bhagidari and Jan Andolan” for Covid-19 management, the PM said the five-fold strategy of ‘testing, tracing, treatment, Covid-appropriate behaviour and vaccination’, if implemented with utmost seriousness and commitment, would be effective in curbing the spread of the pandemic.
The statement said while the exact contribution of mutant strains to the escalation of cases in some states remained speculative, the measures to control the pandemic remained the same. The PM also highlighted the need to ensure effective implementation of containment measures, besides involvement of community volunteers in active case search and management of containment zones. “He exhorted that all states need to take required stringent measures with comprehensive restrictions in places witnessing high surge to curb the spread,” the statement said.