Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday hold his fifth meeting with chief ministers of all states, to analyse the coronavirus pandemic situation in the country, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Sunday. The meeting will be held via videoconferencing at 3 pm.
The Centre imposed a countrywide lockdown on March 25 to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Since then, the lockdown has been extended twice, first till May 3 and then till May 17, taking into account the rising number of cases and the opinions of chief ministers. As of Sunday morning, India had 62,939 cases of Covid-19, including 2,109 deaths.
Monday’s meeting is likely to focus on boosting economic activities and pushing efforts to convert red zones, which have a higher number of coronavirus cases, into orange or green zones, PTI reported quoting unidentified government officials.
From April 20, the government had allowed some non-essential economic activity to resume in areas not designated as hotspots. Shops selling non-essential goods, including liquor, and some industries have been allowed to resume business in most orange and green zones. Transportation services were also allowed, with restrictions.
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba held a meeting with state chief secretaries earlier on Sunday. During the meeting, the chief secretaries reportedly told him of the need to resume more economic activities in a calibrated manner.
On Saturday, the Centre decided to send health teams to 10 states with a high number of coronavirus cases. Maharashtra has reported the most cases, followed by Gujarat and Delhi. The teams will help the state governments manage the outbreak, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement.
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