New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an overall assessment of the COVID-19 situation of the eight worst-hit states in his first leg of the PM-CM meeting on Tuesday.
Delhi, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat are the eight states that are plagued with rising COVID-19 cases as India intensifies its battle against the pandemic.
In the initial leg of the meeting, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal blamed the sudden spike on pollution.
He said though the national capital witnessed a sudden spike of 8,600 cases on November 10, the positivity rate has been consistently decreasing since.
He asked for an extra 1,000 ICU beds in central government hospitals till the third wave lasts.
A presentation was made during the meeting which said the public capital has witnessed an average of 111 deaths over the past week. Maharashtra’s average death was discovered to be 93 over the past week. Rajasthan’s positivity rate was discovered to be 21 per cent in the previous week which was really high.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot, Maharashtra’s Udhhav Thackeray, Gujarat’s Vijay Rupani were likewise in attendance.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan were likewise present during the meeting as were V.K. Paul of the Niti Aayog, the Cabinet Secretary and the Union Health Secretary.
During the meeting, Banerjee stated that the state’s performance on COVID-19 was impacted because of the international border it shares with other countries.
She furthermore raised the issue of the GST dues that the Centre owes it.
Ahead of the meeting, the Rajasthan government had hiked fine to Rs 500 for the individuals who were not adhering to wearing of face masks. It was discussed during the PM-CM meeting also, by the state.
Shah referred to examples of the US and Europe to urge states to practice caution.
He advised the eight states – in the COVID-19 Red Zone – to stringently guarantee that all wear face masks while in public spots and keep up social distancing, other than the high level of hygiene.
The Union Health Secretary stated that the COVID-19 situation in four states especially – Delhi, Rajasthan, Kerala and Maharashtra needs careful monitoring in the days to come.
with IANSinputs
