Himachal CM says no plans to impose lockdown in state

Chief minister (CM) Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday sought active support from industrialists in Baddi Barotiwala to contain the spread of Covid-19 while stating that his government had no plans to clamp a lockdown in the state

Chief minister (CM) Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday sought active support from industrialists in Baddi Barotiwala to contain the spread of Covid-19 while stating that his government had no plans to clamp a lockdown in the state.

Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur in Sirmour district on Saturday.

The CM, who was accompanied by health minister Rajiv Sezal and health secretary Amitabh Awasthi, presided over a meeting of the stakeholders on Saturday, and said, “The state government does not want to impose a lockdown as it adversely affects the economy and causes great panic among the masses.”

He said the second wave is more alarming than the first one with the state crossing the 2,000-mark in terms of active cases in just 20 days. He, however, assured that this time around, the state government is better prepared to face the challenges. “When the first case of Covid-19 was detected in the state, we had only 50 ventilators but now we have more than 600,” the CM said.

Jai Ram added the state also has sufficient stock of PPE kits, face masks and hand sanitisers.

He said all stakeholders such as NGOs, industrial associations, elected representatives of panchayati raj institutions, urban local bodies, Mahila Mandals and Yuvak Mandals had played a crucial role in fighting the pandemic and their continued support is required to win the battle.