COURTESY HT JULY 12
NCR areas should follow Delhi: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs a virtual meeting to review preparations to contain Covid-19, in New Delhi on Saturday.PTI
Saubhadra Chatterji
letters@hindustantimes.com
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appreciated the efforts of the Centre and Delhi government in containing the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in the national capital and directed that a similar approach against the pandemic be adopted in the entire National Capital Region, remarks that came at a meeting to review the public health crisis.
Delhi recorded 1,781 fresh Covid-19 cases on Saturday, taking the tally in the city to 110,921, while the death toll from the disease climbed to 3,334. On June 23, the national capital reported the highest single-day spike so far of 3,947 cases, but the daily cases have since reduced amid increased testing. “Priority is close monitoring and guiding the containment works in regions where the infection rate is high,” the Prime Minister tweeted after the meeting to take stock of the Covid-19 situation in various parts of the country and the preparedness of state governments.
He said there was no room for complacency in the battle against Covid-19, with the review meeting focusing on ramping up testing and keeping the death rate low. The meeting was attended by Union home minister Amit Shah, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan and other senior officials.
Shah has held a series of meetings with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, lieutenant governor Anil Baijal and senior officials over the strategy to augment Delhi’s health care infrastructure amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Kejriwal said recently the situation in Capital appeared to have come under control amid joint efforts by the Centre and the Delhi government. Among the efforts launched in Delhi recently were widened testing, a serological survey to gauge the prevalence of the disease and a more refined strategy on containment zones.
People aware of the developments said Modi asked for better coordination between the Centre and other states of the NCR during the meeting. This comes weeks after the Union home minister emphasised the need to have a unified strategy in Delhi-NCR to tackle Covid-19, adding that suburbs such as Gurugram, Noida and Ghaziabad can’t be separated from the Capital in the public health emergency.
According to an official, who did not wish to be named, discussions were held on the situation of different states and Union territories including Delhi, supported by data on the Covid-19 outbreak. “The PP appreciated the concerted efforts of the Centre, State and local authorities in containing the pandemic situation in Delhi. He further directed that similar approach should be adopted with other State governments,” an official statement by the PMO said