Must fight to defeat Covid crisis, says PM Modi

“The Council of Ministers meeting noted that the present pandemic crisis is ‘once in a century crisis’ and has thrown a big challenge for the world,” said a statement released by the government after the meeting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a meeting with his council of ministers and other key officials, urging them to tackle the pandemic at a time when India is adding record cases of Covid-19 through personal involvement in their local regions, and ensuring that governments and citizens fight the “once in a century crisis” collectively.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting on Covid-19, via video conferencing, in New Delhi, Friday, April 30, 2021. (PTI)

“The Council of Ministers meeting noted that the present pandemic crisis is ‘once in a century crisis’ and has thrown a big challenge for the world,” said a statement released by the government after the meeting.

At the meeting, PM Modi noted that “all arms of the government are working unitedly & rapidly to deal with the situation”. He also urged the ministers to stay in touch with people of their respective regions, identify and address issues at the local level, according to the statement.

”A lot is being done by the Prime Minister,’’ a Cabinet minister said on condition of anonymity, adding: “We are trying to minimise the impact as best as we can.”

Friday’s meeting -- the first for the Council of Ministers since the second wave of infections began in February -- comes at a time the country is firmly in the grip of its worst ever Covid-19 outbreak that has broken all global records in daily cases.

The ministers were also briefed about the measures taken to address oxygen scarcity in several parts of the country, especially the national capital, in the past week, according to the statement. Other issues of discussion included shortage of essential medicines and efforts to scale up health infrastructure.

Several areas, specifically the Delhi-National Capital Region, have in recent days seen an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases that have burdened the health infrastructure and led to a shortage in supply of medical oxygen. The crisis deepened last week, with hospitals across Delhi-NCR resorting to distress calls on social media as they ran low on oxygen stocks. While the situation has improved since, there is still a scarcity of supply as cases continue to mount.

The Council of Ministers also stressed the importance of Covid appropriate behaviour, and reiterated that the participation of society is a key aspect to accomplish the “gigantic task ahead”, the statement said.

Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” -- who tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this month -- could not attend Friday’s meeting as he is undergoing treatment at a Delhi hospital. Other Union ministers who are recovering from the viral illness include labour minister Santosh Gangwar, sports minister Kiren Rijiju and minister of personnel Jitendra Singh.

Along with ministers, the virtual meeting was attended by principal secretary to the Prime Minister, PK Mishra, cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba and Dr VK Paul, Niti Aayog member who also heads the government task force on vaccination.

The Prime Minister has held several high-level meetings to discuss the pandemic situation in the country in recent days.

Earlier in the day, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “The second wave is in its fourth week and already claimed 2 lakh lives and counting. Yet there is no accountability from the government.”