New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appreciated the efforts of the Centre, state and the local authorities in containing the COVID-19 situation in Delhi, and directed that a similar approach be replicated in checking the pandemic in the entire NCR area.
"Priority is close monitoring and guiding the containment works in regions where the infection rate is high," the prime minister wrote on Twitter after holding a review meeting to take stock of the COVID-19 situation in various parts of the country and the preparedness of various states.
According to a statement issued by the Prime minister's Office, Modi also directed that real-time national level monitoring and guidance should be provided to all affected states and places with high test positivity rates.
The prime minister reiterated the need to observe personal hygiene and social discipline in public places.
Modi said awareness about the pandemic should be disseminated widely and a continuous emphasis on preventing the spread of the infection should be laid.
He said there is no room for any complacency in this regard, according to the statement.
"The prime minister appreciated the concerted efforts of the Centre, state and local authorities in containing the pandemic situation in Delhi," the statement said.
"He further directed that a similar approach should be adopted with other state governments in containing the COVID-19 pandemic in the entire NCR area," it said.
The review meeting was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and the cabinet secretary among others.
"Had an extensive meeting to review the COVID-19 situation across the nation. Took stock of the ongoing efforts to contain the infection," the prime minister said in his tweet.
The Union home minister had stepped in last month to handle the coronavirus situation in the national capital amid rising cases and criticism in different quarters of the Delhi government's handling of the COVID-19 situation, with complaints of non-availability of beds in hospitals for patients and difficulty in getting the tests done in laboratories.
Shah had discussed ways to check the spread of the virus in the NCR with the chief ministers of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The NCR comprises districts belonging to Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The prominent ones being Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida), Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad.
During Saturday's meet, the "successful example" of surveillance and home-based care through 'Dhanvantri Rath' in Ahmedabad was highlighted and it was directed that it may be emulated in other places, the statement said.
Meanwhile,the number of COVID-19 patients who have recovered in the country crossed the five-lakh mark on Saturday, the Union Health ministry said and attributed it to a number of measures taken by the Centre and the state governments, including implementation of containment zones and surveillance activities.India's COVID-19 tally surged to 8,20,916 on Saturday while the death toll climbed to 22,123 with 519 people succumbing to the disease in 24 hours, according to the health ministry's data updated at 8 am.
A total of 5,15,385 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far with 19,870 patients having been cured and discharged in the last 24 hours till 8 am.
Coupled with effective implementation of containment zones, surveillance activities, timely diagnosis and effective clinical management of COVID-19 cases, the cumulative total number of recovered cases among COVID-19 patients has crossed the 5-lakh mark on Saturday, the ministry said.
"The recovered cases outnumber the COVID-19 active cases by 2,31,978. With this progressively widening gap, the recovery rate has further improved to 62.78 per cent," the ministry said.
There are 2,83,407 active cases and all are under medical supervision, with severe cases being admitted in hospitals and pre-symptomatic patients and those showing moderate symptoms in home isolation, the ministry said.