Friday, 21 May 2021 | PNS | New Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asked District Magistrates to work out a strategy to keep away Covid-19 from rural areas and prevent vaccine wastage even as he cautioned that the “challenge remains” as long as the coronavirus infection is present “even on a minor scale”.
The Prime Minister asked the officials to work out their strategy in a rural and urban specific way and ensure that rural India is Covid-free.
Addressing the District Magistrates of 10 States, including Opposition-ruled West Bengal, Jharkhand, Kerala and Odisha, through videoconferencing, Modi said over the past few days active cases have started to reduce in the country but urged them to spread the message about keeping villages corona-free and the need to keep following Covid-appropriate behaviour.
The officials briefed the Prime Minister about the improving Covid situation in their respective districts and shared their experience of using technology for real-time monitoring and capacity building. They also informed him about the various steps taken by them to enhance public participation and awareness in their districts.
The Prime Minister told field officers that coronavirus had made the work more demanding and challenging. New challenges, new strategies and solutions are needed in the second wave of the pandemic, the PM said and lauded the outstanding work of the State and district officials in fighting the menace.
He said the experiences and feedback from their work in the field, helped in making practical and effective policies and that the vaccination strategy is also being pushed forward by incorporating suggestions from States and various stakeholders at all levels.
The Prime Minister stressed on the “need to use local experiences and the need to work together as a country” and emphasised that the methods and strategies in dealing with the pandemic should be “dynamic as the virus is expert in mutation and changing the format”.
He said virus mutation is concerning the youth and children outlined the need to boost the vaccination drive.
On vaccine wastage, the Prime Minister said “wastage of a single vaccine means not being able to provide the necessary security to an individual”. Therefore, he urged the officials to ensure vaccine wastage is prevented.
The Prime Minister has been directly interacting with DMs of States to take their feedback and suggestions to counter the pandemic.
