Coroanvirus cases: PM Modi observes Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana about increase in COVID-19 cases

New Delhi, Mar 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a meeting with the chief ministers of states and Union territories and reviewed the ongoing COVID-19 situation of the country. It can be seen that this is the first meeting between the PM and the state authorities after India began its vaccination drive.

During his interaction with the Chief Ministers that came in the backdrop of a sudden spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, PM Modi mentioned certain states in various regards.

Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab

PM Modi mentioned Maharashtra, Punjab as a few states where cases have been increasing. "In many states, cases are increasing after coming down briefly. Some names were mentioned like Maharashtra, Punjab," he said. Then he said the case positivity rate is very high in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The number of cases is also increasing, he said.

Kerala, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh

The contacts of every infected person have to be tracked as soon as possible. Taking the name of Kerala, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, PM Modi said that these states are mostly depending on an antigen test, instead of RT-PCR tests. "This needs to be changed. RT-PCR tests must be 70 per cent of all tests," PM Modi said.

Telangana, Andhra Pradesh

Urging states to concentrate on local planning, PM Modi said, "Over 10 per cent vaccines of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have been wasted. Uttar Pradesh too has similar figures. Vaccine wastage should be reviewed. It should be monitored every evening."