Experts, Leaders Discuss India's Coronavirus Crisis On Solutions Summit: Highlights

• ​We are responsible to some extent. We opposed the elections to Panchayats and local bodies. But we were shut down. The Election Commission is not putting any curbs neither are the high courts.
• Thousands of comments against me on Twitter because of this. All parties are conducting rallies.
• In politics, karyakartas don't leave the leaders. So they have to go. So, courts and the poll body should have taken a decision.
• What the PM said about the Kumbh yesterday should have been said sooner. Uttaraakhand Chief Minister's comments must have not been made (taking dips in Ganga will keep Covid away).
• Last time everyone followed SOPs and guidelines. This time also that should have been done.
• Last time villages had fewer infections. But this time Covid has spread to the villages. Kumbh returnees will spread the infections now.

#NDTVSolutionsSummit | Dr VK Paul, NITI Aayog (Health), on the measures that need to be taken against #COVID19pic.twitter.com/alp8WgMHgR

- NDTV (@ndtv) April 18, 2021

• All hospitals are on the brink with patients outside. If we don't address this, there might be a law and order situation and chaos.
• Do not panic without medical health.
• We create halfway facilities that can be monitored by us. Like, hotels.
• We are anticipating a drug shortage. Remdesivir has become a holy grail. Oxygen is the more difficult one to acquire.
• We need to put our heads together and accommodate more people.

#NDTVSolutionsSummit | Dr VK Paul, NITI Aayog, on #COVID19 crisis pic.twitter.com/Ifqra3O8S0

- NDTV (@ndtv) April 18, 2021

• Of the 150, 82 oxygen plants have been developed. A massive import of oxygen is underway.
• Supervised and facilitated home-care is an important suggestion to reduce dependence on beds.
• Don't go out. Wear masks. Stop the chain.
• Restrictions in a graded way needed without a complete lockdown.

• Supply of oxygen: we are securing the supply and are diverting oxygen from other places.
• Vaccination is the only thing that is going to see us through Covid

• There are multiple dimensions to the whole issue. The private hospitals have always worked with public ones. Regulations are needed.
• Private healthcares are judged at a higher level.
• Hospitals are struggling and overwhelmed. This is unprecedented - the ferocity and the speed of the virus. Hospitals were better prepared. None of the major players faced any problems in the supply chain. Hospitals were better prepared to isolate areas and convert large parts of hospitals into Covid facilities.
• Private healthcare cannot be a substitute for public healthcare. They must work together.

• First and foremost, the problem is vaccine-hesitancy. We saw very few people coming forward before April 1. Even now the numbers are low. This might be due to everything they are reading on WhatsApp and other media.
• The way forward is vaccinating as many people as possible. The hesitancy needs to go.
• If you open up for all, it will lead to chaos because of the population.
• Less than 5o per cent are showing up for vaccinations.

• There are two aspects to the tsunami of coronavirus: breaking the chain and taking care of those already infected. Hospital beds are very, very precious. Must save them for those in dire need. Large number of cases can be managed at homes, hotels and Covid care centres. We have a large number of non-Covid patients whose lives we cannot sacrifice.
• We have to curb down on rallies, protests and gathering. Ramp up testing, tracking, treating and vaccines.

• Covid's been around for a year. We let our guard down. Hospitals went back to business as usual. And this hit us hard.
• The doubling rate has increased. The mortality rate has come down. There are better medicines.
• On the roads, people are not wearing masks.
• We don't want a lockdown. It kills livelihoods. But if this continues, Dr Paul must decide on it too.
• We are doing everything. We are not there yet. Please expect another month of this trauma.

• We had a blueprint to tackle the situation even if cases reach the 3-lakh mark, we had blueprint to tackle it even the district level.We had two vaccine manufacturers. We held their hands and helped them. We had asked them if they needed financial help. They said no. But now, it has come to financial help.
• A significant part of the export was a part of the deal of the Indian firm with Astrazeneca. Only because of this agreement, Astrazeneca came to India. Another part was WHO programme which made it necessary to provide vaccine to poor countries. Then, under Vaccine Maitri, 10 million doses were exported to friendly nations.

• The blueprint for this was made in September was escalating. Unfortunately, the lull in case, the fatigue in the system resulted in the tsunami of cases when the second wave came.
• The important thing we need to talk about is behaviour. People are still not wearing masks even now.
• The SOPs for both of these events (Kumbh, election) should have been followed in letter and spirit. But, our main focus should be the behaviour

• On one hand, there are advantages of decentralisation and on the othert, here is risk of chaos. We need a balance. It can only happen if India functions as one seamless country by going beyond political differences.
• Most large corporations have come forward to help with the oxygen.

• Here and now- Bed capacity, medicine capacity, vaccination and oxygen
• Behaviour and actions and govt actions: What healthcare experts are telling us about hospital capacity. Now I am hearing it is airborne. We are all grappling and groping in the dark about the virus. Take decisions on containment and restrictions. Don't rely on public opinion.We need to go with the expert view in terms of hospital capacity and how do we manage the caseload and restrictions and containment
• Lives and livelihood - Ensure we don't lose more live through loss of livelihoods. We saw the migrants situation last year. So before taking any decision must consider the consequences.

• Even in the first wave, CII got large companies to put together the CSR plans and also small companies with small budget with CSR plans.
• The work from home has become far more streamlined. In manufacturing, you need people on the floor.
• We are hoping that this wave is a shorter wave.

• Things have changed so much. We are saying that do whatever it takes to ensure production, supply and distribution. This now is no longer limited to vaccines but also includes oxygen, etc.
• A lot of partnership and bold steps required to cut any red tapes. Must ramp up production.
• We need to do whatever it takes to address the situation at hand.
• We had a set of rules dictated by scientists and health experts. That needs to be tweaked and changed since it spreads in closed environment.

• Increase vaccine supply
• Ensure social distancing because a lot of our industry workforce is below 45
• We are ready to help the government in any way needed and possible
• The super spreader events must be banned. Not more than 10 people should be allowed.
• We are trying to balance lives and livelihoods. We are not US or Europe. We cannot keep pumping money in.

• Vaccination should be opened to all age groups
• Vaccination drive must be accelerated
• Quick action must be taken by the government
• Lockdown is not a solution in the present times

#NDTVSolutionsSummitpic.twitter.com/ui1leRx7zB

- NDTV (@ndtv) April 18, 2021

• Many doctors argue that they should give Remdesivir on day 1 as it's an anti-viral drug but there's not sufficient data to support it. Let's face it, we have a vaccine for COVID-19 but as of now we don't really have a treatment of the disease.
• As far as the drugs are concerned even they aren't very helpful.
• Steroids are good and they can save lives but giving them at early stages can do more harm than good
• The drugs are useful but the timing of them is very critical

• More people are coming for CT Scan now. We are seeing crowding and a lot of waiting. CT scan is indicated in patients with oxygen levels below 94 per cent, in cases of repeat negative RT-PCR tests.
• We don't have to get a scan done if tests are positive.

• We are all overwhelmed. We have limited medicines. Western world were 6 months ahead of us. We looked at them and acted.
• We are not stopping for data on different strains. We are focusing on treating patients and saving lives.
• We have learnt a lot in one year.
• We need oxygen, medicines, beds, Remdesivir. We don't know when this will end.

• Almost when we saw a positivity rate of 53% in Amravati, we knew it was a more dangerous strain. There must be zero tolerance for Covid-inappropriate behaviour. Strains will come and go but we have to strictly adhere to Covid protocols.
• Look at the east - Thailand and others. They have zero tolerance for non-masking.
• This is a fast-spreading strain but not that fatal. The numbers are overwhelming our healthcare system.
• We cannot have another strain.

• Must stop infection and stop it from spreading. Must create strict containment zones in the most affected areas with testing, tracking and treating
• Ban crowding
• Boost vaccination
• Like how we divided the country into red, green, orange zones, we must do again. Get more beds, oxygen points.

• We should have been more alert because we knew that through serosurvey our population was susceptible and we knew that there was other variants circulating in the world. It was only a matter of time until the strains are found in India. We got complacent.
• If we go back to the pandemic 100 years ago, the second wave was more dangerous. Even now, people started going out and now we are seeing a surge.

• We are not in favour of lockdown. People get angry when restrictions are imposed. I am okay with people's anger but not with piles of bodies.
• We are ready to help other states if there's a need for that

• We made arrangements in time
• We have enough stock of Remdesivir and oxygen
• We have enough beds, ventilators, PPE kits, masks etc
• I have advised officials to acquire as many hospitals as needed depending upon the number of cases under Epidemic Act
• We will also convert dharamshalas and schools into hospitals if needed.

• The most important thing is to save lives.  Must give vaccines to affected areas and save lives.
• ​The prevailing situation in northeast is better. PM Modi calls us directly. The communication is better. Earlier Manipur had no direct flights. Now we have 6-7 flights. So the transport system is better.
• If a total lockdown is imposed, we will have to get stocks of food grain. Economically, we will manage. The main shortages will be in ventilators, oxygen. We will take help from Centre.

• We found most positive cases had travel history. No date connecting Covid spread to elections or rallies.
• Most had come from Mumbai and Delhi for business purposes. Nothing to do with elections.
• We have vaccinated 12 lakh so far. We have 6 lakh doses available in state.
• 12,000 vials of Remdesivir available. Will have 10,00 more in coming days.
• With the rising Covid cases, vaccination demand has gone up. We have to see the supply side also. It takes time to increase that.
• It's not possible to develop vaccines overnight. Must increase production in a scientific manner.

• The wuestion is whether we get proper vaccines this time. The most important thing is saving lives. To crush the lives, the most effective weapon is vaccine. We want to vaccinate everyone and not just over 45 years. Our sero-survey showed 89 percent are susceptible, we want to vaccinate them.
• We began mass-vaccination campaigns. Private sectors must purchase vaccines if they are in the market. But they are not available. Hope Centre gives vaccines. Else, we cannot save the 89 per cent.

• Centre should ask states about their capacity. We have given our capacity to Centre. We were vaccinating and then supply stopped. They should increase the supply of vaccinations.
• Agree with Manmohan Singh, we are saying we need vaccines. Centre says we don't.
• We need 1 lakh Remdesivir. Things are in Centre's control. Oxygen supply has been centralised. We cannot take from the plants in our state.

• You have to identify the problems to find solutions
• PM Modi was building his brand image globally were giving 60 million vaccines. Stop your brand building, focus on vaccine
• BJP wrote a resolution: Greatest country and PM.When you screw up, you have to take responsibility
• Their focus must be vaccine, vaccine, vaccine
• We told them to club the three phases together. But no.
• The Bengal Chief Minister, a few hours ago, has written to the PM: No more vaccines in Bengal. Please send more first.

• One thing is clear: there should be no politics in an epidemic. Whatever the demands the states are making, the Centre must provide.
• Our capacity is 8 Lakh vaccines per day. We have all the resources in place in 4,000 vaccine centres - doctors, nurses, etc. We are getting 3 lakh and we are using 3 lakhs everyday.
• Maharashtra is a big state. The proportionate amount of vaccine must be given. There is no infighting between our state and the Centre. Because of scarcity of Remdesivir, we have made a system for its distribution. In every district, collector and FDA inspector will have to coordinate this. No party can be involved.

• Till April 1, things were under control. Yesterday's daily cases were over 9,000 and today it is 10,500. Our mortality rate is increasing. Today, 42 people died in 24 hours.
• Wge are iving Remdesivir and another drug for free. Our oxygen consumption is increasing. Active cases nearing 65-70k. We have put up oxygen plants. But Centre has taken over the oxygen distribution system. now
• The supply of oxygen is less than what we need.
• In the last wave, the young were safe. But now, the young are dying.

• We anticipated a second wave because we studied about the virus. We wanted to delay the peak because of elections.
• We were improving our capacity for a year and increasing ICU beds. Only 20% ventilators and less than 50% ICU beds are occupied. We are strengthening the health system.
• We closed some of our centres when the cases dropped and now we are reopening them.

• No one could imagine the strength and volume of this. We are registering over 60,000 cases daily.
• When all seven manufacturers of Remdesivir saw the daily cases in Maharashtra were around 1,500 - 2,000, they reduced their production. It takes 21 days to develop new ones. Oxygen plant can be developed overnight. We are shifting to oxygen generator plants.
• We are doing our best. We have at least 5 lakh beds available. We have ramped up number of beds.

• I think the most important thing is protocols must be strictly followed - honestly and transparently.
• Maharashtra has a higher number of cases. Whenever there has been an epidemic, the western areas have been affected the most - the central teams also said.
• The protocols and guidelines have been followed. We managed to flatten the curve.
• After the lockdown was lifted, numbers were less and we got complacent.

• Kerala had one of the longest-drawn pademic.
• In the first wave, we controlled the virus and tried to delay the peak and flattened the curve.
• Our peak occurred later.
• Three ways we adopted:

1. Break the chain campaign
2. Quarantine
3. Testing - didn't have any omissions. In the grassroots levels, we asked our officials to report every case of cough and tested them.

• Our mortality rate is 0.4. Initially it was 0.5. After lockdown was removed, it became 0.7. We have good advancement in health care. Increased ICU and ventilators.

• We were supposed to pay attention to the symptoms and the spread of the second wave which we didn't
• We should have learnt from the countries where the second wave was reported first, but unfortunately, we didn't

• The cases surged suddenly and rapidly in the month of April. The death rate has also increased in this month.
• The second wave is spreading very fast
• During the first wave, it was mostly affecting the elderly but this wave is affecting the elderly, youth and children alike
• The second wave is very dangerous and our medicinal parameters have changed according to that
• The symptoms have also changed in this wave
• The demand of medicines and oxygen have suddenly surged

#NDTVSolutionsSummit | Actor Malaika Arora urges people to follow all guidelines to avoid #COVID19 infection pic.twitter.com/kmPsacJBXX

- NDTV (@ndtv) April 18, 2021

•  Everyone's fitness levels are different. I believe in yoga. Home cooked simple food is very good.
• Stay at home, wear mask, keep your surroundings clean, eat homecooked meals
• You can not escape Covid. It looms large

• "The virus is spreading to more amongst youth and rural areas," says T.S. Singh Deo, Chhattisgarh Health Minister 
• "We don't have ICU beds, oxygenated beds. We have lack of injections like Remdesivir. We may be falling short of steroidal medicines. All these  points where we are falling short, at not yet peak of the second wave, we must prepare for all this for the next phase. If it is not going to be Corona, it will be something else. That is for sure," Mr Deo adds.
• "Oxygen tankers are given the status of ambulances in Madhya Pradesh, we have created a green corridor for making Oxygen available to hospitals," says Vishvas Kailash Sarang, Medical Education Minister, Madhya Pradesh. This is a pandemic, there will be challenges, but we are working on the solutions that are required, he says adding no deaths due to lack of oxygen in Madhya Pradesh.
• Will formulate solution about Remdesivir stocks being stolen by this evening. We think we will recover the stocks. We have made all possible efforts to prevent this from happening: Vishvas Kailash Sarang said.
• This is not a show for blame game but to find solutions - we should all work together without politics, Mr Sarang said.
  

• Uttar Pradesh government is scaling up all health facilities, ramping up ICU beds.
• We have already vaccinated 1 crore people in the state.
• Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Covid task force has been working hard
• The number of electric crematoriums have been increased.
• Fudging of data is impossible.
• Have added 52 more medical colleges since BJP came into power.

• Remdesivir production being scaled up.
• India to get Johnson & Johnson vaccine soon.
• India is expected to get more vaccines in the future.
• We have Sputnik vaccine now for emergency use.
• If there is any shortage of oxygen at any point in time. There is a website where we can see. The oxygen shortage will be addressed soon. Increased availability right away. Oxygen supply is being addressed.
• The product (Sputnik V) can be expensive. The companies will sell it at a much cheaper rate due to pandemic. Vaccines sold in India are at a much lower price.
• Demand for vaccine is enormous, and I don't think this is a case. Virus transmits through us. Vaccine works. We have far more cases.
• Vijayraghavan: This can always happen. It is a race and we will have to win it, on mutant strains spread.
• We are rapid now and tests in the world have identified. The vaccine design scenario is good. No longer we have to go for so many trails.

• Political parties must work together against the crisis.
• The situation has become better. There are many cases that were mild. We are using oxygen concentrators. Nobody thought the second wave will be so dangerous.
• We are preparing for the third wave. We are coming up with more beds/tests. We should do our tests. Some people prefer home over the hospital. We should follow all norms. We should follow what your doc says.
• Typically weakness, little sense of throat irritation. I went for a test and followed my doc advice - on his experience after recovering from Covid.
• Don't panic. This is a global pandemic, we are seeing this once in 100 years, it is a complicated disease so do not ignore any symptoms. Yes some are not afraid. When people say we have a cold, please do not talk to that person. It is a complicated disease and do not take it lightly.
• Maharashtra still on alert mode, however, we are also taking into account possibilities of the third wave and how we can manage.
  
• Vaccination will definitely help us in the third wave and going further.
  
• Duty is to save the life of people. We supported people with financial package. We have started the discussion on the second phase as well. We have started talking about the third wave to the doctors.
• This time, travel is not restricted, people are migrating. There is not much panic today as compared to last year.
• We are trying to restrict hoarding of remdesivir, its for all of us to step up beyond politics at this point. Oxygen situation in the state is stable now. We have coordinated with Centre and companies, health minister and administration and the situation is stable now.
• Every decision the state has taken is based on the task force, all decisions are made as per science.
• We are also going for genome sequencing because we have a lot of flyers coming in from different regions.
• Under reporting COVID cases is not going to help, crucial to understand we can't be afraid of the numbers.
• Requesting all to test, some are fearing isolation if they turn positive. Requesting people not to worry about public or private treatment, as protocols being followed are the same, as set by the task force.
  

• Second wave is far more concerning, numbers rising rapidly. We should have learnt from other countries. 
  
•  People sitting in Delhi should have seen this and should have directed people.
  
• Apart from the elderly, the young impacted by COVID are also dying, this is also a big concern now.
• Trying our best to control the situation, efforts are underway.
• Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh vaccinating at a slower place than Chhattisgarh.
• We are sending Remdesivir to different counties. We should vaccinate people below 45 years.
• There are only 2 companies that are producing the vaccine. I think we can increase this production.
  
• Huge shortage of oxygen cylinders.
  
• When people are not testing, how will you say that they are Covid positive. When people die, we come to know that they were positive. We should increase testing.
• No leader has said will not do rallies due to Covid. The PM himself is doing so many rallies. This is Mahatma Gandhi's country, we should teach people and then they can learn. We should learn from other countries and should try to tackle in the same manner.
• India is in a state of an emergency, why can't we reach out to other companies, give royalty and boost vaccination for the sake of humanity The more we test, the more we can detect.
• Not one political leader said I will not campaign due to COVID, we all need to make this change for all to see and implement.
• At least Rahul Gandhi decided not to campaign due to the pandemic, we must welcome this move even if its late.
• The Government must already learn from global examples of a third wave and must prepare.
  

• Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that they are ensuring more Covid tests in the state as cases rise rapidly.
• Hemant Soren added that his state has ample oxygen plants.
• He added that he wants to use the Defence Minister's manpower and may consider half-day lockdown amid the surge.
• Expecting central government to issue strong directives so people don't flout COVID norms.
• Need more Remdesivir injections, Remdesivir crisis concerning.
• Will need more cylinders for supplying oxygen.
• May have to defer exams to be conducted in the state.
• Situation in hospitals is becoming critical.
• We will write to Prime Minister, Home Minister, Defence Minister, want to use their man-power and facilities in our state.

• Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh sounded an alarm over coronavirus mutations as he said "younger people are getting affected" amid the fresh Covid surge. He yet again repeated his appeal to the centre to widen the vaccine coverage and slammed political leaders for leading election campaign rallies and setting a wrong example.
• "This is a national crisis for God's sake. This is a war against virus. The war is against an invisible enemy. Punjab's brand ambassador for Covid - Sonu Sood - has also tested positive for Covid today. We all have to be careful because this can get out of control," Amarinder Singh said.
• "Four locations in our state were cleared for setting up oxygen plants. But the final go-ahead from the centre is awaited since last year. Just yesterday, I wrote to Union Minister Piyush Goyal about this. This is a problem," Captain Singh said.
• "Punjab's economy suffered last time when we had a lockdown in Ludhiana. We had to arrange 400 trains to send people to Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and other places. However, it's needless to say that some checks are required whether in malls, restaurants, or cinema halls. Our objective is not to harass people but to protect them. So we have done all that's possible with minimum restrictions," Captain Singh said.
• "Testing is very important and so is going to hospital at the right time to break the chain of transmission. Higher the testing, more the number of infections. We might have reported higher number of cases because we tested more people," Amarinder Singh said.
• "This new strain - UK strain - is affecting young people. I am also worried that the new wave has hit the rural regions, which were largely protected till last year," Captain Singh said.
• Answering a question on genome sequencing, Captain Singh said: "Fortunately, the current lot of vaccines are covering mutants. But problems may arise if there are mutations that can not be covered by vaccines. Also, states should be left to decide on vaccine coverage depending on the spike in cases."
• On political leaders campaigning amid surge in infections, Captain Amarinder Singh said: "We have banned political rallies till April 30. We will extend that, if needed. What's the point of political leaders setting a wrong example?"
• "What was the point of gifting 5 crore doses to other countries. What about us? What about Indians? Don't we get it first? I am not saying don't give it (vaccines) if you have it, but if you don't have it, the priority should be (vaccinations of) Indians, not giving the vaccines to others as a goodwill gesture... First give the vaccine to me. I said this when the Prime Minister had the conference the other day...," Amarinder Singh said.
• "Leave it to the states to decide. I may have a different problem to Delhi and Delhi may have a different problem to Maharashtra, and Maharashtra may have a different problem to Kerala. Let us decide where we require the vaccine," Captain Singh said.

• Dr Ashwath Narayan, Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister said: "We faced a lot of changes last year because we didn't have the necessary infrastructure. Today we need to address both lives and livelihood. We need to take away people's fear of COVID. We need to test only people with symptoms. All resources should be channelised to get them tested."
• Several measures have already been taken to control the spread of the virus. Seeing a spike in reinfection cases, important to detect the cases very early, Ashwath Narayan said.
• "Early detection and early treatment is crucial. Trying to scale up the entire system to address the concerns of the people," Dr Narayan said.
• "Need to send a strong message and ensure that people regularly get tested. Need to test people only with symptoms," Dr Narayan said.

• Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on NDTV Solutions Summit: "Covid situation is grim. But people should not panic". "The younger generation is getting affected really fast unlike last time. There is no testing issue in Delhi. We are conducting 1 lakh test daily," he added.
• Satyendar Jain added that people should not rush to hospitals and urgent the Centre to supply more oxygen.
• Whoever has Covid, should drink around 3-4 litres of liquid, so the body is not dehydrated, Mr Jain said. "Due to emotional outbreaks, people's parameters can get impacted, therefore crucial for family members to be calm and not panic," Satyendar Jain said.
• "Testing is not an issue in Delhi. Today, after one year we can say, if all wear masks and then step out of the house, we can control the spread," Mr Jain said.