The rapid increase in coronavirus cases in Europe, the United States, Indonesia and Bangladesh is a warning for India and the rest of the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday.
The prime minister’s comments came as several European countries, over the last few days, announced the reimposition of restrictions on travel and other activities as coronavirus cases surged due to new variants. In the US, all but two states – Maine and South Dakota – reported that case numbers have gone up over the past two weeks, according to AP.
“Cases are rising in these countries by four times...eight times...ten times,” Modi said. “This should alert us. We should keep reminding people that the coronavirus still exists.”
Modi was speaking at a virtual meeting with the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Kerala and Maharashtra. Over the last week, 80% of the new cases were reported from these six states, the prime minister said, warning about the prospects of a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, ANI reported.
“Initially experts were of the opinion that states which were first affected by the second wave would control the [pandemic] earlier,” Modi said. “But we see cases rising in Maharashtra and Kerala. This is indeed a matter of grave concern for the country.”
He urged the states to take “proactive measures” to prevent the third wave, pointing out that the virus is more likely to mutate if cases continue to rise for a longer period of time. He reiterated the importance of setting up micro-containment zones in districts with higher caseloads.
The prime minister also encouraged states to utilise the Centre’s recently announced emergency response package of Rs 23,123 crore to tackle the pandemic. The Union Cabinet had approved the package last week.
At a press conference, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had said that the package will be spent on hospital beds, oxygen supply, critical medicines and other aspects of health infrastructure that were severely affected during the devastating second wave of the pandemic in April and May.
On Friday, India recorded 38,949 new coronavirus cases, pushing the tally of infections since the outbreak of the pandemic in January last year to 3,10,26,829. The country’s toll rose to 4,12,531 as it recorded 542 more deaths in the last 24 hours.
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