Published 15:25 IST, April 5th 2020
With COVID-19 on agenda, PM Modi dials political leaders and former PMs & Presidents
PM Modi reached out to leaders of major political parties such as Sonia Gandhi and Naveen Patnaik and former PMs and Presidents to discuss the COVID-19 crisis
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to leaders of major political parties to discuss the COVID-19 crisis. This included key opposition leaders such as Sonia Gandhi, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, Naveen Patnaik, K Chandrashekar Rao, and MK Stalin. Additionally, he also had a conversation with former Presidents Pranab Mukherjee and Pratibha Patil and former PMs Dr.Manmohan Singh and HD Deve Gowda regarding the current situation. Currently, there are 3374 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 277 people have recovered while 77 individuals have lost their lives.
PM Modi's video conference with CMs
This development follows the PM's video conference with the Chief Ministers of all states on April 2. Highlighting that the common goal was to ensure minimum loss of life, PM Modi noted that testing, tracing, isolation, and quarantine should remain the areas of focus in the next few weeks. The PM also flagged the necessity of maintaining the supply of essential medical equipments and called for dedicated hospital facilities for COVID-19 patients. Another important message imparted by PM Modi was that Crisis Management Groups needed to be set up at the district level besides the appointment of District Surveillance Officers.
While acknowledging that the farming sector had been exempted under the lockdown, he emphasised that social distancing should be practised. The PM also opined that it was crucial to formulate a common exit strategy to ensure staggered re-emergence of the population after the end of the lockdown period. He asked the states to send their suggestions regarding the exit strategy.
'9 pm- 9 minutes' appeal
On April 3, PM Modi shared a video message with the people of India. He urged everyone to switch off the lights at 9 pm on April 5 and light a lamp, candle or flashlights for 9 minutes to showcase unity in the fight against the novel coronavirus. However, the PM cautioned against congregating for this purpose.
Updated 15:25 IST, April 5th 2020