Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the state governments to focus more on tests of COVID-19 even if that meant higher reporting of the infection. The Prime Minister in a virtual meeting with the Chief Ministers on Thursday said that lockdowns should be avoided and that it should focus on more tests.
The Prime Minister said, "In the last phase of the infection, we had to impose lockdowns because at that time, we did not have the infrastructure to control the infection: no PPE suits, not enough sanitisers, masks… we are no longer facing those shortages. So micro-containment zones should be the strategy," he said.
Sounding a note of caution, the PM asked states to check the rise in cases on a war footing, while stressing that efforts must be strengthened in the next three to four weeks. "This time, people are becoming casual. The administration is fatigued and lax we cannot afford this. Combating this wave needs to be done on a war footing," he said.
Modi further announced to celebrate 'teeka utsav' (vaccination festival) from April 11 to 14 and asked the state governments to involve governors and all tiers of elected representatives in motivating people to follow COVID appropriate behaviour.
The PM did not directly touch upon the complaint of several states that they were woefully short of vaccines. Instead, he urged young people to go out and spread the word about vaccination, especially among vulnerable groups.
He asked states to tighten governance and streamline testing and vaccination while focusing on micro containment zones. "Those who want to do politics will do politics," he said as squabbles between the Centre and many states intensified over vaccine shortage. Several states have demanded more autonomy in the strategy of administering the vaccine while others said they just didn't have enough stocks.
