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PM stresses on PPE availability in meeting with empowered groups
According to a government official familiar with the matter, only the heads of the 11 panels -- 10 empowered groups and a task force -- interacted with the PM.
A week after forming 11 empowered panels comprising senior bureaucrats to monitor all aspects of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a review meeting of all the groups.
According to a government official familiar with the matter, only the heads of the 11 panels -- 10 empowered groups and a task force -- interacted with the PM. The group leaders spoke on issues and challenges that need to be addressed and the Prime Minister told them that the government is closely working with the states to combat the deadly virus.
Later, in a series of tweets, the PM said that countrywide preparedness in terms of availability of hospitals, proper isolation and quarantine facilities, and disease surveillance, testing and critical care training were reviewed at the meeting. According to the official cited in the first instance, the meeting also identified areas needing attention.
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The Prime Minister also emphasized on ensuring sufficient production, procurement and availability of all essential medical equipment such as PPEs, masks, gloves and ventilators.
Many states have sought more medical equipment such as protective gear, gloves and masks from the Centre apart from financial packages. The Prime Minister was also appraised of the steps being taken in the past seven days to ramp up the production of medical equipments. Earlier, in a meeting it was found that more than 20,000 ventilators in India are lying unused due to shortage or spares or servicing.
The Narendra Modi government on Sunday established ten empowered groups and a key strategic task force to look into all aspects of the Corona outbreak. the measure turns at least 68 senior bureaucrats into a consorted planning and implementing machinery as India scrambles to minimize the impact of the deadly diseases that continues to kill thousands across the world.
Last Sunday, the government announced working groups with specific task assigned to country’s top bureaucrats and experts to cover all aspects of the current situation arising out of the Corona outbreak.
Groups have been formed with focus areas such as “the medical emergency management plan”, “availability of hospitals, isolation and quarantine facilities, disease surveillance and testing and critical care training” and “facilitating supply chain and logistics management for availability of necessary items such as food and medicine” and other issues.
All the ten empowered groups have representatives from the cabinet secretariat and PMO for better coordination.
A six-member Strategic Task Force has also been formed which will exclusively deal with issues related to the ongoing three-week lockdown that ends on April 14. Niti Ayog member Dr. VK Paul, home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, secretary (coordination) VP Joy and three officials from the Prime Minister’s Office AK Sharma, Arvind Srivastava and Abhishek Shukla.
PM will also be meeting his council of ministers and the Union Cabinet on Monday via video conferencing.
