‘No Substitute For Testing, Tracking, Treatment’: PM Modi Tells Officials During Covid-19 Review Meet

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a review meeting with top government officials on Saturday to take stock of the pandemic situation in the country.

During the meet, the PM urged authorities to utilise all government health facilities to ramp up Covid-19 vaccination production.

According to officials, Modi also reviewed the oxygen shortage in hospitals across the country and called for speeding up of installation of medical oxygen plants.

He also took stock of ventilator shortage in the country, authorities said adding that officials also briefed him about the shortage of various key drugs needed for Covid-19 treatment including Remdesivir.

Directing authorities to increase testing, Modi said “there’s no substitute for testing, tracking and treatment”.

Modi also urged authorities to take all necessary measures to ramp up availability of hospital beds for Covid-19 patients. “Local administrations need to be proactive, sensitive to people's concerns,” Modi said.

“India defeated Covid-19 last year, we can do it again with same principles but faster speed and coordination,” he said during the meet.

The PM also directed central authorities to closely coordinate with states to contain the spread of the virus.

“We need to utilise full potential of India's pharma industry to meet rising demand of various medicines. Use of Remdesivir, other medicines must follow approved medical guidelines and their misuse and black marketing must be strictly curbed,” Modi told officials.

The prime minister also directed authorities to come up with ways for “real-time” monitoring of the Covid-19 situation in the country.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren Writes To PM Modi

In another development, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren sought help from the doctors assigned to the paramilitary forces deployed in the state to help fight the pandemic. In a letter to the prime minister, he urged him to direct, “The Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Defence (GOI) to issue necessary instructions for permitting the state government to deploy doctors and paramedics of the CPMFs and military hospitals for the treatment and management of Covid-19 patients.”

The developments come amid India recording its highest single-day Covid-19 spike on Saturday as the country reported 2,34,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities in the last 24 hours, pushing its Covid-19 tally to 1,45,26,609.

(With PTI inputs)