Focus should be on reducing COVID-19 transmission rate, increasing public activity gradually: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said reduction of transmission rate of the novel coronavirus and gradual increase in public activities while adhering to all guidelines are the "twofold" challenges and now the Centre and states will have to work towards achieving the twin objectives.

Addressing chief ministers via a video conference, the prime minister also said he is of the "firm view that the measures needed in the first phase of lockdown were not needed during the second phase and similarly the measures needed in the third phase are not needed in the fourth," according to an official statement.

The prime minister reaffirmed the importance of 'do gaz doori' (a distance of two yards) and added that suggestion of "night curfew" raised by many chief ministers would surely reaffirm the feeling of caution among people.

Referring to the resumption of train services, Modi said it was needed to rev up the economic activity. But, he made it clear that services on all routes will not be resumed and that only a limited number of trains would ply.

Nearly two months after it suspended operations of passenger trains over the coronavirus crisis, the railways will resume services with 15 pairs of trains on select routes from Tuesday.

Referring to the twin objectives, he said "We can now focus our strategy in this battle against coronavirus, as should be the case. We have a twofold challenge - to reduce the transmission rate of the disease, and to increase public activity gradually, while adhering to all the guidelines. We will have to work towards achieving both these objectives."
Modi said, "We must understand that the world has fundamentally changed post COVID-19."