PM Modi to meet CMs over Covid-19 today: All you need to know

Modi is expected to raise the issue of states where the virus appears to be taking hold once again and is likely to stress the need to accelerate vaccinations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to hold a meeting with the chief ministers of all states and Union territories on Wednesday as alarm grows over the resurgence of Covid-19 cases in India. Here is all you need to know about the meeting and the pandemic situation:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File photo)

•The situation is particularly alarming in Maharashtra, which is at “the beginning of its second wave” as the Centre has urged the state to step up containment efforts.

• Modi is expected to raise the issue of states where the virus appears to be taking hold once again and is likely to stress the need to accelerate vaccinations.

• A detailed directive has been issued to states such as Maharashtra to curb the transmission cycle and intensify disease surveillance by effective testing and tracing to identify cases.

• States reporting a surge have been asked to quickly expand their vaccination coverage and deal with vaccine hesitancy among the target group.

• Except for Kerala, Odisha, and Bihar, almost all regions are showing an increase in their outbreak, according to the University of Michigan’s India Covid-19 metrics tracker.

• Since a low of roughly 11,000 cases a day in the second week of February across India, there are now approximately 23,500 a day on average (over the last seven days).

• The trends threaten to quickly erode India’s advantage of starting its vaccination programme while the outbreak was largely under control.

• The Union government on Monday rushed a three-member team of experts to Haridwar, Uttarakhand, to review medical care and public health arrangements for the Kumbh Mela that begins from April 1.

• Experts said a lack of restrictions on how many people can gather for a dip in the river threatens to turn the religious event into a Covid-19 super-spreader.

• The resurgence brings the focus back on coronavirus vaccinations, which have averaged around 1.4 million doses over the last week.

• The country has targeted delivering 300 million doses by the end of July, with a little over 33 million done since January 16.