E-Paper
Virus airborne, high risk groups must stay indoors, CM tells all-party meeting
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath convened an all party meet at the Raj Bhawan here on Sunday amid a renewed spike in coronavirus cases in the state
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath convened an all party meet at the Raj Bhawan here on Sunday amid a renewed spike in coronavirus cases in the state. Governor Anandiben Patel chaired the meeting.
While the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress attended the meeting, main opposition Samajwadi Party and its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal stayed away. RLD claimed it wasn’t invited.
Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said that corona virus had now become air borne ‘to an extent’ and advised high risk groups, including elderly above 60 years of age and children below 10 years to cut all non-emergency outings.
“We have appealed to the high-risk category, people above 60 years of age and children below 10 years, to not go out unless essential, as it is being noticed that the infection to an extent has become airborne,” Yogi told the meeting.
Blaming complacency for the surge of infections after Covid cases came down post September 2020 and post vaccination, the chief minister said his government was seeking public cooperation in ensuring that Covid protocols were compulsorily followed. The CM also shared his government’s plan to decongest places like vegetable markets which he said would be organised in large open spaces.
Rapid and random rapid antigen test, focused contact tracing of each positive person and increasing the number of RTPCR tests as well Covid beds and ICU facility in hospitals were some of the other measures of his government that Adityanath shared with the opposition. The official machinery, he shared, was also being galvanised to mount a massive awareness campaign aimed at sensitising the people against taking the Covid surge lightly.
The opposition assured the government of cooperation to help contain the spread of the disease.
“The chief minister did say that the infection was airborne and stressed on the need for precautions at all levels,” BSP legislative party leader Lalji Verma told HT after the meeting, in which he also shared suggestions by his party. The BSP’s suggestions largely focused on improving contact tracing, allowing government OPDs in districts to function and ensuring that non-Covid patients weren’t denied treatment amid the focus on checking corona cases.
The Congress was represented by party leader Suhail Ansari at the meeting in which the CM sought and got opposition cooperation in his government’s efforts to ensure that people wore gloves and masks while going out and used sanitisers or washed hands with soap each time they touched anything outside.
“If we do that we will be able to break the transmission,” Adityanath said, adding cleanliness and sanitisation had begun on a mass scale.
The CM later held a video conferencing with officers in each district( especially those reporting maximum cases like Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Gorakhpur ) to talk about the new guidelines that allow only a limited gathering even during panchayat polls set to begin from April 15.
“We have already decided that only five people would be allowed for campaign and the mass campaign or gathering that earlier allowed up to 200 people has now been halved. If it’s a cramped room where the political campaign is on, then only people half the strength of that room would be allowed entry,” Adityanath said.
Yogi will discuss measures to help control Covid-19 with his ministers at Monday’s cabinet meeting in which the suggestions received from the opposition would also be taken up.
