India PM Modi warns states of second Covid-19 peak, urges quick steps

New Delhi - Seventy districts have witnessed a 150% rise in infections in the last few weeks.

By Wam

Published: Wed 17 Mar 2021, 7:49 PM

Last updated: Wed 17 Mar 2021, 11:57 PM

With the number of Covid-19 infections rising in some states recently, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met with all state Chief Ministers via video conference.

Also read: India frets over wastage of Covid vaccines

He called for "quick and decisive steps" to prevent a second peak of the pandemic from emerging nationwide. More than 96 per cent of Covid-19 patients in India have recovered and the country is having one of the lowest fatality rates in the world, Modi noted.

However, 70 districts in India have witnessed a 150 per cent rise in infections in the last few weeks and Modi expressed concern about the high COVID-19 positivity rate in two states, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

"The confidence which came from our achievements in the battle against Coronavirus should not turn into over-confidence and lead to negligence. If we don’t stop the growing pandemic right here, then a situation of a nationwide outbreak can get created. I would like to emphasize further RT-PCR tests in all the states of the country. Test, Track and Treat," Modi told the Chief Ministers.

The Prime Minister regretted that vaccine waste in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh was to the tune of 10 per cent and urged immediate correction to drawbacks in planning and governance at the local level to reduce vaccine waste.

State Chief Ministers narrated the challenge of maintaining COVID-appropriate behaviour in the general public in light of rising infections.