COVID-19 surge: PM to meet CMs at 4.30 pm today

New Delhi, Jan 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact the Chief Ministers of the states and Union Territories to take stock of the COVID-19 situation. The meeting comes in the wake of a surge of the number of COVID-19 cases in the country largely owing to the new Omicron variant.

The meeting is scheduled to take place via video-conferencing at 4.30 pm. In the wake of the surge several states have imposed strict curbs. Last week the Prime Minister had chaired a high level meeting with officials to take stock of the preparations being made to handle the situation.

During the meeting the PM was briefed by the Health Secretary on the global surge of cases. The PM asked officials to coordinate with the states with regard to the need to ensure adequate health infrastructure at the district level. He also told officials to continue with intensive containment and surveillance in clusters that are reporting higher cases.

"PM also spoke about the importance for continuous scientific research in testing , vaccines and pharmacological interventions including genome sequencing given that the virus is evolving continuously," the Prime Minister's Office said in a release.