Coronavirus Outbreak: Consensus among states to extend lockdown, says Narendra Modi during interaction with CMs, terms next 3-4 weeks critical

-

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said there seems to be a consensus among states on the extension of lockdown by another two weeks while emphasising that the next three-four weeks will be critical to determine impact of steps taken till now to curb spread of the novel coronavirus.

Modi made the remarks while speaking with chief ministers of states via video conference on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with chief ministers of states via video conference on Saturday. ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with chief ministers of states via video conference on Saturday. ANI

Though an official confirmation on extension of a nationwide lockdown is still awaited, and two states -- Odisha and Punjab -- have already extended restrictions, on Saturday Maharashtra announced that the restrictions on movement of people will remain in place till 30 April.

Maharashtra has been worst-hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak with its tally nearing 2,000 and 110 people reported to have died so far.

During his meeting with chief ministers of states, the prime minister also suggested specific measures for agriculture and allied sector including modification of APMC laws to facilitate sale of farm produce while assuring states that the country has adequate supplies of essential medicines, according to a statement by the Press Information Bureau.

The prime minister also gave a stern message against black marketing and hoarding, the statement added.
Talking about the exit plan, Modi also stressed on a new motto 'jaan bhi jahaan bhi (life also, the world also)' in what appears to be an indication of some relaxation in restrictions and a possibility of a wider economic stimulus package.

The motto also appears to be indicate the government's desire that economic activity also gathers some pace in a manner that the fight to contain the coronavirus is not affected.

"'When I had addressed the nation (on 24 march) I had said that to save life of every citizen, lockdown and social distancing are very important. Most of the people understood this and stayed at home," the Prime Minister said, adding that now the focus should shift to "Jaan bhi and Jahan bhi" - a future where people care about both the aspects, follow their duties and abide by the directions of the government - this will be important for India's prosperous and healthy future."

Click here for live updates on coronavirus outbreak

The  prime minister also condemned attacks on health professionals and incidents of misbehavior with students from North-East and Kashmir during the meeting.

Meanwhile, the chief ministers indicated that the Central Government will announce new guidelines for the next 15 days soon.

"The prime minister told us that we must not compromise on lockdown and we are receiving suggestions for extending it for next 15 days. He said in next 1-2 days the Government of India will announce guidelines for next 15 days," Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa said after the meeting.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel suggested that permission should be given to carry out economic activities within the states and ban on the inter-state road, air and rail facilities should continue in view of COVID-19.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that a decision has been taken to extend the lockdown.

"PM has taken the correct decision to extend lockdown. Today, India's position is better than many developed countries because we started lockdown early. If it is stopped now, all gains would be lost. To consolidate, it is important to extend it," Kejriwal said in a tweet.

With inputs from ANI



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/34zouXN
FP Staff

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Both COVID-19 vaccine doses needed for good protection against B16172 variant

-
It’s been a concerning few weeks in the UK, with the B16172 variant first taking hold and then spreading to become dominant. This more infectious form of the virus, initially identified in India, is what we’re now going to have to live with – unless it is out-competed by another variant in the future. Worryingly, experts had predicted that B16172 might be able to escape some of the effects of vaccines, which if true would threaten to derail the UK’s plans to finish lifting restrictions from the end of June. However, Public Health England (PHE) has looked at the ability of various variants to evade immunity and says that the UK’s vaccines remain effective against the variants circulating, including B16172. On the surface, this looks like good news. But delve a bit deeper, and things get more complicated, says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. PHE’s research found a little drop-off in protection against B16172 among people who were fully vaccinated.
Read more

New coronavirus variant emerge in India: How should our COVID response change?

-
Image
After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. In 15-20 percent of samples from the Indian state of Maharashtra (the state accounting for 62 percent of cases in the country) a new, double mutation in key areas of the virus has been detected. These are now known as the E484Q and L452R mutations. What makes the variant different? Both these mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus – the spike protein – that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a “receptor binding domain”, meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells. These new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster. Given what we have seen with other similar mutations , it might also make it harder for our immu
Read more

Aditya L1 Mission: Spacecraft is nearing its final phase, says ISRO chief

-
Aditya L1 spacecraft is nearing its final phase, and manoeuvres to enter the L1 point are expected to be completed by January 7, 2024, according to ISRO Chairman S Somanath. “Aditya is on the way. I think it has reached almost its final phase,” the ISRO chief told PTI on the sidelines of an event organised at VSSC to commemorate the 60th year of the First Sounding Rocket Launch. Aditya L1, India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun, was successfully launched on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The spacecraft, after travelling about 1.5 million km from Earth over 125 days, is expected to be placed in a Halo orbit around the Lagrangian point L1, considered closest to the Sun. He said that the last preparations for the spacecraft’s entry into the L1 point are currently underway incrementally.”Possibly by January 7th, the final manoeuvres will be done for entering into the L1 point,” Somanath added. Among other tasks, it will capture and tr
Read more