(Image source from: livemint.com)

With the number of new cases of coronavirus rising, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the Chief Ministers of all the states through a virtual conference yesterday. Modi urged the states to stop the second wave of coronavirus by taking all the needed steps. He said that if the situations fail to come under control, India will have to head for one more pan-Indian outbreak and lockdown. He even asked the states to open the vaccination drive so that more number of people will get vaccinated. Narendra Modi said that 70 districts of the country witnessed a 150 percent rise in the number of cases in the recent weeks.

Modi said that this is a perfect test for a good governance. "We have to stop this second surge immediately. For this, quick decisive steps should be taken. Bring the focus back to the test-trace-treat strategy. 70 percent of the tests should be done through RT-PCR process. Our success should not turn into carelessness. We should not get into a panic situations and fight strong. We have to be proactive in this phase" told Narendra Modi.

The Union Health Ministry listed out districts of 12 states and Union territories where the infections are high. The total number of coronavirus cases reported in India in the last 24 hours is said to be 35,871 cases which is the highest since December 5th. The Health officials of various states requested Narendra Modi to allow vaccination for all the ages as there are restrictions currently. Several state Chief Ministers urged Narendra Modi to make sure more number of vaccinations are available in the coming weeks.

By Siva Kumar