All arms of govt working unitedly, rapidly to tackle Covid crisis: PM Modi

PM chaired a meeting of Council of Ministers on Friday to discuss the situation arising out of the second wave of Covid

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that all arms of the Government are working unitedly and rapidly to deal with the second wave of coronavirus. The Council of Ministers met on Friday to discuss the situation arising out of the second wave of COVID in the country.

The meeting, held through video conferencing, was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by Ministers as well Principal Secretary to PM, Cabinet Secretary. Member(Health) NITI Aayog Dr V KPaul made a presentation on Management of Covid-19 pandemic.

"The Council of Ministers meeting noted that the present pandemic crisis is ‘once in a century crisis’ and has thrown a big challenge for the world," said Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in a statement. PM Narendra Modi said that all arms of the Government are working unitedly and rapidly to deal with the situation. He also urged the Ministers to stay in touch with people of their respective regions, help them and keep getting their feedback. He stressed upon the need to ensure that issues at the local level are promptly identified and addressed.

The Council also reviewed all the efforts made in the last 14 months by the Central and state governments and the people of India. "Reviewed the COVID-19 situation during the Council of Ministers meeting. Discussed the various steps being undertaken including coordination with the states, augmenting medical capacities and boosting oxygen availability," said Modi on Twitter. The efforts by the Central Government, in coordination with the states, towards building up infrastructure in the form of ramping up hospital beds, PSA oxygen facilities etc, resolving issues in production, storage and transport of oxygen, tackling matters relating to availability of essential medicines were briefed.

The measures being taken to further ramp up their supply and availability were also pointed out. The support measures to the vulnerable population in the form of provision of food-grains and financial support to Jan Dhan account holders were also pointed out. It was also noted that India could successfully produce two vaccines and there are many candidates at the various stages of approval and induction.

More than 150 million vaccinations have been done as on date. The Ministers also stressed the importance of Covid appropriate behaviour– wearing a mask, keeping physical distance of 6 feet and washing hands frequently. The Council reiterated that the participation of society is a key aspect to accomplish the gigantic task ahead and expressed confidence that the country will rise to the occasion and defeat the virus.