PM Modi to chair meet with chief ministers on Covid-19 situation today

Amid surging COVID-19 cases following the emergence of Omicron variant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the Chief Ministers of all states on Thursday at 4

This is the first meeting of the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers of all states this year. PM Modi has held several meetings with chief ministers last year.

Earlier on Wednesday, Dr VK Paul, a NITI Aayog member, has also cautioned that the infection caused by the Omicron variant of coronavirus should not be considered common cold and people should not take it lightly.

"Omicron is replacing Delta variant of COVID-19 as it is highly transmissible. It should be considered as the common cold. Normally, the transmission or expansion of the pandemic would take longer but this time it has been very rapid because of the high transmissibility," he said at the Health Ministry media briefing.

Mentioning a steep surge in coronavirus cases across India, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry said, "A sharp surge in COVID cases in India with the active cases 9,55,319 today. Emerging states of concern (reporting surge in COVID cases) are Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Gujarat."

"Emerging states of concerns reporting high positive rates- Maharashtra with a rate positivity rate of 22.39 per cent, West Bengal 32.18 per cent, Delhi 23.1 per cent and Uttar Pradesh 4.47 per cent," he added.

The Prime Minister had also chaired a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in the country on January 9, through a video conference. During that review meeting, PM Modi had stressed the need to ensure adequate health infrastructure at the district level. He had asked officials to maintain coordination regarding this with the states.

India has witnessed a surge in COVID-19 cases in the recent past.

According to the Union Health Ministry, India on Wednesday reported 1,94,720 new COVID-19 cases and 442 fatalities. The daily positivity rate due to this virus in the country is 11.05 per cent. Active cases account for 2.65 per cent of the total cases.