‘Be ready for other Covid variants after Omicron': 3 things PM Modi emphasised in meeting with CMs
India's preparation should be ahead of all variants of Covid, PM Modi said as he closed the meeting with the chief ministers of states and Union territories on Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said despite Covid-19 cases increasing in the country, there is no need to panic as whatever variant it may be, the way to fight it is vaccination. This was the first meeting of PM Modi with the chief ministers of the states and the UTs in 2022. The meeting comes on a day India recorded over 2.47 lakh fresh infections. "This is the third year of India's fight against the pandemic. India's victory is certain," PM Modi said in his closing remarks at the interaction with the chief ministers.
Local containment, extensive vaccination and pro-active steps are the three major points PM Modi laid stress on. People may also try India's age-old wisdom of drinking kadha, PM Modi said. “It is not a medicine, but a tried-and-tested tradition of India,” PM Modi said.
Talking about Omicron, the variant which is driving the present surge of the pandemic in India and the world, PM Modi said in the initial days of the Omicron outbreak, there was some doubt regarding Omicron. But now the situation is clear and countries like the United States are reporting 14 lakh cases in a day because of Omicron, PM Modi said.
"Now we have the experience of fighting the pandemic for two years. We must take into account the question of people's employment before we take any action. So, more focus should be on local containment. We should also ensure that maximum people should get treated in home isolation," PM Modi said. Several states and Union territories have announced night curfew and weekend curfew to contain the spread of the infection.
"Our preparation should be ahead of all variants of Covid. After we tide over Omicron, we have to make preparation in place to fight other variants of the virus as well. And in this, states will cooperate with each other," PM Modi said.
Calling out fake news regarding vaccination, PM Modi said there are many narratives like why vaccination is not stopping reinfection but people should not pay heed to all these as vaccination is the only sure-shot way to come out of the pandemic. It is India's pride that India's vaccines against Covid-19 have been globally acknowledged and India has achieved landmark vaccination figures even before India's vaccination drive completes a year, PM Modi said.
