PM Modi chairs meeting of council of ministers, says government working rapidly to deal with COVID-19 situation

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a meeting of union council of ministers and said all arms of the government are working unitedly and rapidly to deal with the situation created by the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.

He also urged the ministers to stay in touch with people of their respective regions, help them and keep getting their feedback. He stressed upon the need to ensure that issues at the local level are promptly identified and addressed.

An official release said the council of ministers discussed the situation arising out of the second wave of COVID-19 in the country.

The meeting noted that the present pandemic crisis is ‘once in a century crisis’ and has thrown a big challenge for the world.

The Centre’s ‘Team India’ approach to fight COVID-19 based on the collective efforts of the Centre, state governments and people of India was highlighted.

The council of ministers also reviewed the efforts made in the last 14 months by the central and state governments and the people of India.

The meeting was briefed on the efforts by the central government in coordination with the states towards building infrastructure in the form of ramping up hospital beds, PSA oxygen facilities, resolving issues in production, storage and transport of oxygen and tackling matters relating to availability of essential medicines.

The measures being taken to further ramp up their supply and availability and support measures to the vulnerable population in the form of provision of foodgrains and financial support to Jan Dhan account holders were also mentioned.

The meeting noted that India has two ‘Made in India’ vaccines and there are many candidates at various stages of approval and induction. More than 15 crore vaccinations have been done as on date.

The council of ministers also stressed the importance of COVID appropriate behavior – wearing a mask, keeping physical distance of six feet and washing hands frequently.

The council reiterated that the participation of society is a key aspect to accomplish the gigantic task ahead and expressed confidence that the country will rise to the occasion and defeat the virus.

The meeting, held through video conferencing, was attended by union ministers, Principal Secretary to PM and Cabinet Secretary. Member (Health) NITI Aayog Dr VK Paul made a presentation on management of COVID-19 pandemic.

The second wave of COVID-19 has seen an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases in the country. (AGENCY)