PM Modi chairs COVID-19 review meeting; directs officials to enhance testing, health infra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a detailed meeting with senior ministers and officials on Saturday to review India's response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Informing about the meeting, the Prime Minister's Office stated that the meeting reviewed the national level status and preparation in the context of the pandemic. With 3,08,993 COVID-19 cases, India is now the fourth worst-affected country across the globe. 

"Prime Minister took cognizance of the recommendations of the Empowered Group on city- and district-wise requirements of hospital beds/isolation beds which will be required and instructed Health Ministry officials to undertake emergency planning in consultation with the States/UTs. He also advised the Ministry to ensure suitable preparations in view of the start of the Monsoon season," a press release by the PMO read. 

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Dr Vinod Paul, Member NITI, Convenor of the Empowered Group of Medical Emergency Management Plan, was also present at the meeting and presented a detailed view on the current status and likely scenario of COVID cases in future. The meeting also discussed the challenges being faced and the need to scale-up the level of testing, number of COVID beds in hospitals and handle the peak surge of daily cases effectively. "It was observed that out of the total cases two-thirds are in 5 states with an overwhelming proportion of cases in big cities," the press release informed. 

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PM-CM meet on June 16-17: Sources

On Friday, sources reported that PM Modi will to hold a video conference with all state Chief Ministers amid 'Unlock 1'. The meeting will be held in two parts on June 16 and 17. The Prime Minister is scheduled to hold talks with CMs of 21 states / UTs on 16 June - Punjab, Assam, Kerala, Block, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Himachal, Chandigarh, Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, Ladakh, Puducherry, Arunachal, Meghalaya Mizoram, A&N Islands, Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman Diu, Sikkim and Lakshadweep.

On a consecutive day he will hold talks with Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu-Kashmir, Telangana and Odisha. These 15 states have a higher number of Coronavirus cases and have a sizable population.

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