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PM conducts high-level review meeting with CMs of worst Covid-affected states
The meeting comes as India battles a second wave of Covid-19 virus.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with chief ministers of states and Union Territories which reported a high number of Covid-19 cases on Friday. The meeting comes at a time when the nation is reporting more than three lakh cases for the past week and is also reporting a high number of fatalities.
The meeting was attended by Union home minister Amit Shah, NITI Aayog health member VK Paul, union ministers Piyush Goyal and Harsh Vardhan chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Uddhav Thackeray, Ashok Gehlot, BS Yediyurappa, Pinarayi Vijayan, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Vijay Rupani and Bhupesh Baghel. Delhi lieutenant governor Anil Baijal also attended the meeting. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee could not attend the meeting. Chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay represented West Bengal at the meeting, according to a news report by PTI.
Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Punjab are among the states and Union Territories which are contributing to the daily caseload, according to health ministry. Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka have all reported their highest single-day surges since the onset of the pandemic during the second wave. Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur and Bengaluru Urban are also among the worst-affected districts in the country.
The Prime Minister is also scheduled to hold a meeting with oxygen manufacturers as several hospitals in several worst-affected states and major cities continue to clamour for oxygen. Desperate appeals for oxygen were sounded by Delhi's two major hospitals as they raced against time to save the lives of the patients afflicted with Covid-19. Oxygen shortage has affected hospitals in Capital city Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka along with the rest of the country leading to widespread fear and concern among people whose friends and relatives have been diagnosed with Covid-19.
