"If These 10 States Beat Covid, India Can Win," PM Tells Chief Ministers

A view has emerged that India will win against coronavirus if 10 states defeat it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Chief Ministers today during a virtual meeting to review the coronavirus situation, adding that 10 states account for over 80 per cent of the active COVID-19 cases in the country. This is the seventh such interaction with Chief Ministers on the coronavirus crisis.

"A view has emerged that if we defeat coronavirus in 10 states, the nation will also win," the Prime Minister said during the virtual meet with Chief Ministers of 10 states. "We need to follow a new mantra - all those who have come in contact with an infected person should be traced and tested within 72 hours... It has emerged from the discussion that there is an urgent need to ramp up testing in Bihar, Gujarat, UP, West Bengal, and Telangana," he said.

The meeting comes after "Unlock3" or the third phase of lifting of coronavirus-related restrictions across the country began last month.

Among those present at the meeting were, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami, Mamata Banerjee, Amarinder Singh, K Chandrasekar Rao, Uddhav Thackeray, Vijay Rupani, Nitish Kumar and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Karnataka was represented by its Deputy Chief Minister.

"Experts now say if we identify COVID-19 cases within 72 hours of onset, then infection slows down to great extent," PM Modi said. "Our experience so far is that containment, contact tracing and surveillance are most effective weapons against COVID-19," he said.

PM Modi also spoke about Home Minister Amit Shah's experience in dealing with the state governments on the coronavius crisis in Delhi and nearby states.

During the meeting, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami the centre should fund 50 per cent of the cost of RT-PCR tests done for detecting COVID-19 and also finance the procurement of high-end ventilators. His Punjab counterpart, Amarinder Singh, sought from PM Modi a liberal financial package to fill the revenue collection gap caused by the 19 pandemic.

On Monday, the Prime Minister had held a virtual meeting with Chief Ministers of six states - Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala - to review the flood situation there.

While Maharashtra has the highest number of COVID-19 cases, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh come second and third respectively.

Five states - Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh - reported the highest number of cases and deaths in the last 24 hours.

"The honourable PM had a video conference with 10 states, primarily because the active cases in the country is over 6.3 lakh. About 80 per cent of these active cases are in these 10 large states. He called the video conference to give some valuable suggestions and remarks. Once these 10 states can control these active cases, once these 10 states control Covid, the country will do well," Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said.

PM Modi's last meeting with Chief Ministers to discuss the coronavirus crisis was in June.

During yesterday's meeting with Chief Ministers of flood-affected states, PM Modi raised concerns over rescue efforts amid the pandemic, saying that states must ensure that people follow all health precautions such as wearing face masks, hand sanitisation and maintaining adequate physical distance. He said relief material should include provision for hand washing or sanitising and face masks for the affected people.

India has recorded over 22.68 lakh coronavirus cases so far, with 53,601 new cases in the last 24 hours. The recovery rate stood at 69.79 per cent this morning.