Test, track, isolate and quarantine: PM to CMs
   Date :03-Apr-2020
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds meeting with all State Chief Ministers via video conferencing over coronavirus in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI)
 
 
NEW DELHI,
 
Work on war footing, identify hotspots, encircle them and ensure that coronavirus does not spread out, Modi tells CMs Chief Ministers speak about importance of mobilising resources, financial as well as medical, to mitigate the corona crisis
 
PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday told Chief Ministers to focus on COVID-19 containment measures -- testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine -- in the next few weeks with a common goal to ensure minimum loss of life, and pitched for formulating a “staggered” exit strategy from the ongoing lockdown.
 
As the country witnessed a spike in coronavirus infections and deaths in the past few days, the Prime Minister held a meeting with Chief Ministers via video-conferencing, and said it was imperative to work on war footing, identify hotspots, encircle them and ensure that coronavirus does not spread out. According to an official statement, Modi also pitched for formulating a common exit strategy to ensure “staggered re-emergence of the population” once the 21-day nationwide lockdown ends on April 14. Reiterating the importance of social distancing in preventing the spread of the virus, which has infected over 1,950 people and caused at least 50 deaths, Modi asked the States to brainstorm and send suggestions on the lockdown exit strategy.
 
“The Prime Minister outlined that the common goal for the country is to ensure minimum loss of life. In the next few weeks, testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine should remain the areas of focus,” the statement said. The States spoke about the importance of mobilising resources, financial as well as medical, to mitigate the crisis, the statement said. Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan spoke about the rise in number of cases in India, spread of cases from the Nizamuddin headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat, preparations to tackle medical cases arising out of further spread of the virus, and need to break the transmission chain in the districts with high number of confirmed cases.
 
During the interaction, the Prime Minister forewarned that the global situation remains far from satisfactory. He informed the participants about speculations of a “possible second wave” of spread of the virus in some countries. He highlighted the necessity of maintaining supply of essential medical products, availability of raw material for manufacture of medicines and medical equipment. Modi said it is necessary to ensure availability of separate, dedicated hospital facilities for COVID-19 patients. He said that it is pertinent to maintain peace, and law and order across the country.
 
He said COVID-19 has attacked “our faith and belief and is threatening our way of life”. He appealed to the leaders to reach out to community leaders and social welfare organisations at State, district, town and block levels to build up a united front based on community-approach in the battle against the pandemic. To increase the availability of doctors, he asked the States to tap into the resource pool of AYUSH doctors, organise online training and utilise para-medical staff, National Cadet Corps and National Social Service volunteers. Modi also thanked the States for supporting the decision of lockdown due to which India has achieved some success in limiting the spread of COVID-19. He praised how all the states have worked together as a team to check the spread of the virus.
 
 
Underscoring the importance of coordinated action and the need to avoid overlaps in efforts of stakeholders, the prime minister talked about the need of setting up “Crisis Management Groups” at district level and appointment of District Surveillance Officers. He was of the view that data must be taken from the accredited labs for testing -- “this will ensure congruence in data of district, State and Centre,” the statement said. The Chief Ministers referred to their efforts of maintaining social distancing, tracking suspect cases, identifying and quarantining suspect cases arising from Nizamuddin Markaz, containing community transmission and boosting of medical infrastructure.
 
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah were also present at the interaction. Shah talked about the need to implement lockdown more strictly in some States and the importance of effective district-level implementation of the guidelines issued by the Centre. 
 
Modi to share video message today at 9 am
 
NEW DELHI :
 
PRIME Minister Narendra Modi will share a video message with countrymen on Friday amid a nationwide lockdown to combat the coronavirus outbreak. “At 9 AM tomorrow morning, I’ll share a small video message with my fellow Indians,” the Prime Minister tweeted, without divulging the subject of his message. Modi held a meeting with Chief Ministers on the COVID-19 via video-conferencing.