Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday warned against the “new challenge of black fungus” and said the country must be prepared to fight the rare and potentially fatal condition that is increasingly being seen in recovering Covid-19 patients. The PM was visibly emotional as he spoke about those who had lost their lives to Covid-19 and called for vaccinations to become a mass movement in the long battle against the viral disease.
“In our ongoing fight against Covid-19, a new challenge of black fungus has surfaced. We must focus on taking precaution and preparation to deal with it,” said the PM during a virtual meeting with health workers from his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi.
The mucormycosis infection, or black fungus, which some doctors have blamed on the high use of steroids to combat Covid-19, kills more than 50% of patients within days. In some cases, eyes and upper jaws are removed by surgeons to save lives.
The Centre on Thursday told the Delhi high court that as on May 19, there were 7.251 cases of mucormycosis in India. Of these, Uttar Pradesh recorded 289.
Paying his respects to those who lost their lives during the pandemic, Modi said: “This virus has snatched many people from us. Those who lost their loved ones because of Corona, I pay my tribute and I express my condolences.”
The PM also called for special attention to rural areas and highlighted the need to take treatment to the doorsteps of patients to reduce the burden on the health system. “Our mantra will be, jahaan bimar, vahi upchaar (wherever there is illness, there should be treatment). The more we take wellness to the people, the less will be the pressure on our health systems,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The PM also called for special attention to rural areas and highlighted the need to take treatment to the doorsteps of patients to reduce the burden on the health system. “Our mantra will be, jahaan bimar, vahi upchaar (wherever there is illness, there should be treatment). The more we take wellness to the people, the less will be the pressure on our health systems,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He lauded the efforts of doctors, nurses, technicians, ward boys and ambulance drivers. “But this pandemic is so big that despite all the efforts we have not been able to save the lives of our family members.”
Modi said Varanasi benefited from the strategy of having micro containment zones, while highlighting “Kashi Kavach” – a telemedicine initiative involving doctors, laboratories and private companies.
“Unprecedented pressure on the health system posed a major challenge before us. But the medical infrastructure that came up in Kashi during the last seven years helped us a lot in handling the situation that emerged due to the second wave of Covid-19,” said the PM.
“Bringing doctors, labs and e-marketing companies together to provide a telemedicine facility named ‘Kashi Kavach’ is also a very innovative initiative.”
The Prime Minister termed the vaccine a ‘safety armour’ against Covid-19 and also urged people to get vaccinated.
“Vaccination has provided protection to our frontline workers, who could serve the people. In the coming days, we will be extending vaccine protection to everyone,” he said.
Modi also talked about the threat to children and said they needed to be protected in the fight against Covid.
“There is a need to protect our children against Covid-19. We have had successes in the past in battling diseases which affect children, and we have successfully dealt with those illnesses and ensured the safety of our children. We must implement best practices and do all we can to ensure children are safe,” he said, specifically pointing to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s role in succesfully dealing with Japanese encephalitis (JE) , which claimed the lives of thousands of children in UP.
“Once, Yogiji cried in Parliament for it... After becoming chief minister, Yogiji, along with the Centre, launched a drive against JE. And we have controlled JE up to some extent...,” he added.
Soon after the virtual address, Samajwadi Party president and former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party governments at Centre and the state, saying that the lives of people could have been saved had both focused on arranging essentials for Covid patients instead of indulging in“fake” praise.
“People of the state and the country are facing hardships due to the exchange of praises between heads of the country and the state. Had the time spent on fake praises been spent on arranging vaccines, beds and oxygen, lives of many people could have been saved. Condemnable!,” Yadav said in a Twitter post in Hindi.
Uttar Pradesh reported 7,682 new Covid cases on Friday, taking its tally to 1,659,212. The death toll in the state reached 18,760 with 172 new fatalities.
(With agency inputs)