Special campaign for COVID-appropriate behaviour from tomorrow

New Delhi: With India witnessing a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a greater emphasis on ‘Jan Bhagidari’ and ‘Jan Andolan’ (people’s participation and mass movement) to break the chain  of transmission.

Chairing a high-level meeting on Sunday to review the COVID-19 situation and vaccination exercise in the country, PM Modi stressed on the need to return to ‘mission mode’ in States and districts reporting high cases so that the gains of virus management in the country in the last 15 months were not squandered.

“The Prime Minister directed that for sustainable COVID-19 management, awareness of the community and its involvement is paramount and there is a need to continue Jan Bhagidari and Jan Andolan for COVID-19 management,” a press release by the Prime Minister’s Office stated.

The meeting came on a day India recorded a daily spike of more than 1 lakh COVID-19 infections, the highest rise in cases since the pandemic began last year.

PM Modi also said that the five-fold strategy of testing, tracing, treatment, COVID-                                       appropriate behaviour and vaccination should be implemented with utmost seriousness                                                        and commitment.

The Prime Minister was informed that 10 States/ UTs accounted for 91.4 percent of total daily cases and 90.9 percent of daily fatalities in the country. The reasons for the sharp rise in cases could be mainly attributed to the severe decline in compliance of COVID-appropriate behaviour, especially in the use of masks and social distancing, pandemic fatigue and lack of effective implementation of containment measures at the field level, the statement said.

It was also decided in the meeting that a ‘special campaign for COVID-appropriate behaviour’, with emphasis on 100 percent mask usage, personal hygiene and sanitation at public places, workplaces and health facilities would be organised from April 6 to 14. PM Modi also asked the officials to ensure the availability of beds, testing facilities and timely hospitalisation.

In the meeting, PM Modi directed that Central teams, consisting of public health specialists, be sent to Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh, where the COVID-19 situation was of serious concern. He also took stock of the inoculation drive and the research and development of vaccines in the meeting.