Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the emerging second peak of coronavirus should be stopped immediately with quick and decisive steps, including increased testing and micro-containment zones at an interaction with chief ministers on the COVID-19 situation.
Expressing concern over the spike in COVID-19 cases in some states, PM Modi said, "If we do not stop this growing pandemic now, then a countrywide outbreak can occur".
Stressing on the importance of solving the problems of local governance, the Prime Minister warned that success should not turn into negligence.
"Most of the coronavirus-affected countries had to face several waves of COVID-19. India has so far won the battle against COVID-19. However, several states have reported sudden increase in the number of positive cases. We have to continue the fight to eradicate the virus completely. The confidence which came from our achievements in the battle against Corona should not turn into overconfidence and our success should not turn into negligence," Modi said.
The Prime Minister noted the need for provision of micro containment zones and stressed the need to be serious about 'Test, Track and Treat' as the country have been doing for the last one year.
The Prime Minister also called for ramping up testing in small cities. We have to pay special attention to "referral system" and "ambulance network" in small cities, PM Modi said.
PM Modi also stressed that precautions and initiatives should be taken without creating a state of panic among the public.
"The public should not be brought to panic mode and at the same time also get rid of trouble. We need to strategize by incorporating our past experiences, in our efforts," the Prime Minister told the CMs.
On Wednesday, India recorded 28,903 new COVID-19 cases and 188 deaths since Tuesday.
Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of new positive cases with 17,864, followed by Kerala with 1,970 and Punjab with 1,463 cases, according to the Union Health Ministry.
The country's total caseload has reached 1,14,38,734, including 1,59,044 deaths and 1,10,45,284 recovered cases. As per the Ministry, the number of active cases stood at 2,34,406 on Wednesday.
