New Delhi: Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers Thursday. He will discuss the COVID-19 situation and the ongoing vaccination drive, sources said Monday. The last time Narendra Modi had interacted with chief ministers was March 17. During the meeting Modi had expressed concern over the rise in COVID-19 cases in parts of India. He had called for ‘quick and decisive’ steps to check the ‘emerging second peak’.
Coronavirus cases in India hit a record daily high since the outbreak of the pandemic. A total of 1,03,558 new infections were reported Monday, according to the Union Health Ministry data.
At a high-level meeting with senior officials, Modi had Sunday reviewed the COVID-19 situation and vaccination exercise. He had expressed his displeasure at the ‘alarming rate of growth’ in infections and deaths in India.
Ahead of Modi’s meeting with chief ministers, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan will hold a meeting Tuesday with health ministers of 11 states and Union Territories. These states have been witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases. These 11 states are Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan.
According to the Health Ministry, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab have shown a steep rise in daily COVID cases. They account for 81.90 per cent of the over 1 lakh infections reported in a day.
Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 57,074 which is 55.11 per cent of the new cases reported nationwide. It is followed by Chhattisgarh with 5,250 cases and Karnataka reported 4,553 fresh infections.