PM Modi to chair meeting to review Covid-19 surge in Varanasi today

Senior officials of the local administration and doctors from Varanasi will also take part in the meeting, according to a tweet by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting at 11am on Sunday to review the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) situation in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi. Senior officials of the local administration and doctors from the city will also take part in the meeting, according to a tweet by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting to review the Covid-19 situation in Varanasi on Sunday.(ANI)

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"At 11 AM, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be chairing a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in Varanasi. The meeting will be attended by top officials, local administration and doctors who are involved in fighting COVID in Varanasi," the tweet said.

On Saturday, in a meeting with top officials, the PM reviewed the availability and supply of ventilators, oxygen and medicines and called for utilising the nation's pharmaceutical capacity across private and public sectors to produce vaccines.

Adding that there was no substitute the testing, tracking and treatment, he said, “Early testing and proper tracking remains key to reduce mortality and local administrations need to be proactive and sensitive to people’s concerns.”

The Sunday's meeting comes in the backdrop of the nation recording another highest ever single-day surge in Covid-19 cases. As many as 261,500 fresh infections took the total tally to 14,788,109, while the 1,501 new deaths pushed the country's toll to 177,150.

Varanasi, the PM's Lok Sabha constituency, has also witnessed a surge in the cases of Covid-19 like other urban areas of Uttar Pradesh. In view of the rising cases, the state government imposed a lockdown from Saturday 8pm till Monday 7am every week till May 15.