Containment, contact tracing key to coronavirus management: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a review meeting with Chief Ministers or representatives of 10 states badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and advised that containment, contact tracing, and surveillance were key to effective management of the virus infections in the country.

In his address during the video conference meeting, the Prime Minister said that the states with less testing of samples had more coronavirus cases and advised testing to be increased in states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, West Bengal, and Telangana.

He said that 80 per cent of the Covid-19 cases in India were reported in these 10 states.

The meeting was held to discuss the current coronavirus situation in India and to plan ahead to tackle the pandemic.

The Prime Minister recounted how Union Home Minister Amit Shah prepared a roadmap to tackle the coronavirus pandemic in cooperation with Delhi and nearby states.

"The main pillars of this strategy were segregation of containment zones and focus on screening, especially of those in high-risk categories. The results of these steps are there for all to see," he said, adding that steps like better management in hospitals and increasing ICU beds also proved very helpful.

Modi pointed out that daily tests in the country had reached almost 7 lakh and were increasing continuously, which had helped in early identification of corona infections and their containment.

The average fatality rate in the country is among the lowest in the world and is continuously going down.

"The percentage of active cases is reducing, while the recovery rate is increasing," he said.

"Our efforts have given better results, which has increased the confidence of the people and brought down the fear factor."

The Prime Minister said that the target of bringing down the fatality rate below 1 per cent can be achieved soon.

"With the Aarogya Setu app, we can do our work better; due to this, home quarantine facility is being implemented in a better way," he added.

The country has so far reported a total of 22,68,675 coronavirus cases, including 15,83,489 patients who have recovered. As many as 2,52,81,848 samples have been tested.

The states that participated in the meeting included Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab, Bihar, Gujarat, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

The Chief Ministers requested further guidance by the Health Ministry for conducting sero-surveillance, while also suggesting the setting up of an integrated medical infrastructure in the country.

They also provided feedback on the ground situation in their respective states. They praised Modi's leadership in the successful management of the pandemic and thanked him for his constant guidance and support.

They informed the Prime Minister about corona tests conducted, steps taken to increase testing, use of telemedicine and efforts to ramp up the health infrastructure.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan were among those present in the meeting.