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Gujarat, Bihar Among Five States Called Out by PM Modi for Low Coronavirus Testing

A file photo of PM Narendra Modi.

PM Modi said that he was satisfied that at this time of crisis, the states and Centre have been working together as a team and it was this team spirit that has resulted in India maintaining a lower fatality rate.

  • News18.com
  • Last Updated: August 11, 2020, 2:46 PM IST

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the chief ministers of the ten states most affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, said that one thing that had emerged during the interaction was that in states like Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Telangana, the testing rate was low and there is a need to ramp up these efforts.

PM Modi also spoke about the importance of India, now, working on the 72-hour formula. He said that experts on the pandemic have argued that if within 72 hours of finding a person infected with Covid-19, all the people who have come in touch with the individual are traced and tested and positive among them quarantined, it could greatly help fight against the pandemic.

“If we stress upon the 72-hour formula and use it in tandem with the other existing tools like increased testing, quarantining, etc. it would really give a big boost to our fight against the virus…Till now, our experience against coronavirus has shown that containment, contact tracing and surveillance have been the most effective weapons,” Modi said.

On Tuesday the Prime Minister held the meeting with Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab, Bihar, Gujarat, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh – the 10 states which together account for 80% of total cases in the country.

The Prime Minister said that he was satisfied that at this time of crisis, the states and Centre have been working together as a team and it was this team spirit that has resulted in India maintaining a lower fatality rate than a lot of other countries in the world.

“Our testing has increased to over 7 lakh, which has greatly helped in identifying cases and containing them, and today we are seeing its results. The number of active cases is also dropping and the recovery rate is increasing, it means that our efforts are bearing fruit. If we continue to work in a sustained and focussed manner we will also reach our target of keeping the fatality rate below 1%,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister gave examples of the strategy he had worked upon in consultation with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah — who is currently undergoing treatment for Covid-19 in Medanta hospital — in order to bring the number of cases in Delhi and adjoining areas of Haryana under control.

“When it seemed as if the situation in Delhi and Haryana had become worrying, I held a review meeting with all the leaders including the Home Minister and in a large measure, we were able to bring things under control within 10 days,” Modi said.

He said that the increased awareness among the public at the grassroots level with regard to the preventive measures that needed to be taken to avoid the spread of Covid-19 were helping the country in its fight against the novel coronavirus.

Source: News18