Modi stresses on fully utilising COVID-19 testing capacity as Mamata skips meeting
New Delhi: Prime Minister on Wednesday said that the spread of coronavirus has been greater in some big states and cities owing to the higher density of population and movement of people and said that the existing testing capacity must be utilised fully.
However, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot expressed disappointment at the fact that the challenges and limitations of Centre and states were not discussed during the interaction.
After the meeting with the Prime Minister, Gehlot tweeted, “All states by now know the best practices to deal with COVID-19. Disappointed to see that in today’s VC with Hon’ble PM, challenges and limitations of Centre and state have not been discussed. How Centre will help states overcome hardships after Lockdown should have been discussed. (sic)”
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee skipped the meeting, and the state chief secretary represented the state government.
"High density of population, difficulty in maintaining physical distancing and daily movement of people in huge numbers has made the situation challenging, yet through patience of citizens, readiness of administration and dedication of corona warriors, the spread has been kept under control. Through timely tracing, treatment and reporting, the number of those recovering is rising," the Prime Minister said.
He added that the discipline shown by people during lockdown has prevented the exponential growth of the virus.
Wednesday's interaction was the second part of the two-day interaction, and witnessed participation of states and UTs, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana and Odisha.
Modi also spoke about the presence of better health infrastructure and trained manpower to meet the healthcare challenge. He highlighted the increase in domestic manufacturing capabilities of PPEs, masks and availability of diagnostic kits in adequate quantity, as well as supply of ventilators across the country.
