Centre goes into emergency mode

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in back-to-back meetings on Monday, signalling that the Union government is in emergency mode as it battles an unprecedented surge in Covid cases with a record 2.73 lakh infections in a day.

The Prime Minister's first meeting took place at around 11.30 am, hours after India crossed another grim milestone to report the highest ever surge in cases since the beginning of the pandemic last year.

Later in the day, the PM interacted with top doctors from across the country via video conference. The interaction with doctors comes a day after the Prime Minister chaired a meeting to review the status of preparedness to handle the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Various aspects relating to medicines, oxygen, ventilators and vaccination were discussed, an official statement said.

Modi has been holding regular meetings to deal with the emerging pandemic situation. At 6 pm, he met with top pharma companies online. This is the second straight day of meetings for the Prime Minister over the Covid surge.

According to a statement, the PM emphasised on implementing ''tracking, tracing and testing'', saying this has to be fully followed to check the virus' spread in the same manner the first wave was curbed. The Prime Minister also asked the administration to ensure that preventive measures like social distancing and the use of masks are practised.