The Indian Government is gearing up to chalk out a proper exit plan from the ongoing countrywide lockdown because of the Covid 19 pandemic
The Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi today, i.e., Monday, April 27, 2020, hinted at extending the lockdown beyond May 3, 2020, during his interaction with the various Chief Ministers through video conferencing.
Taking the stock of situation, Modi also lauded the efforts of States in containing the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Chief Ministers who participated in the video conferencing included Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), E.K. Palaniswami (Tamil Nadu), Conard Sangma (Meghalaya), Trivendram Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), Naveen Patnaik (Odisha), Jai Ram Thakur (Himachal Pradesh), Zoramthanga (Mizoram), Velu Narayanasamy (Puducherry), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and Vijay Rupani (Gujarat).
The Minster of Home Affairs – Amit Shah, Minister of Health & Family Welfare – Dr. Harsh Vardhan and other top officials from the Prime Minister’s Office were also present at the virtual meet.
Speaking to Chief Ministers, Modi said, “We saw a two-stage lockdown, with strict measures in the first phase and then some relaxations in the second. Good work has been done in the States.”
During his meeting, Modi highlighted the importance of a proper exit policy from lockdown. He also informed the Chief Ministers that impact of COVID-19 will remain for months to come. He told the State heads that the focus should be on converting the red zones into orange zone and later making them green zone. 2/3rd of the total cases are in red zones.
He further added, “Efforts of States should now be directed towards converting the red zones into orange and thereafter to green zones. We have to be brave and bring in reforms that touch the lives of common citizens.”
Most importantly, he said that importance has to be given to the economy as well. He also emphasised on the importance of usage of technology as much as possible and also to utilise time to embrace reform measures. India will continue with a calibrated approach to put its battered economy back on track and restore supply chains which have been impacted by the lockdown.
Taking it to twitter, Modi tweeted, “Today was the 4th interaction with CMs. We continued discussions on COVID-19 containing strategy as well as aspects relating to increased usage of technology, reforms and more.”
Today was the 4th interaction with CMs. We continued discussions on COVID-19 containing strategy as well as aspects relating to increased usage of technology, reforms and more. https://t.co/xB7pnjmh2P
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 27, 2020
Meanwhile, India recorded 1,396 new cases today and there were more than 50 casualties. Maharashtra is the worst affected States with a total of 8,068 cases.
More than 12,000 labourers from Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) who were stranded in Haryana due to the lockdown, have been brought back to the State. Yogi Adityanath has instructed senior Government officers to ensure COVID-19 testing of people delivering goods to houses during lockdown. He has instructed for setting up of quarantine facilities and shelter home with bed capacity of 15,000 to 25,000 in each District.
Over 100 cases were registered and 2,832 people were briefly detained in Delhi for violating the lockdown. 33 healthcare workers at Max Hospital in Patparganj in Delhi have tested positive for the outbreak.
As per the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, there are 28,380 cases and there have been 886 casualties.
