New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all state heads on Wednesday to remain alert as “the threat of Covid-19 was not fully gone”.
Lauding all-round efforts that had ensured 96 per cent of Indians were vaccinated, Modi said the concentration should now be on children. “Administering vaccines to every eligible child at the earliest should be our priority,” he told chief ministers at a virtual meeting.
The Prime Minister added there should not be any let-up in promoting Covid-appropriate behavior in public places as there had been an uptick in cases in the last two weeks.
Modi also asked states to scale up infrastructure, including manpower in medical colleges and district hospitals.
The Prime Minister had called a virtual meeting with chief ministers to review preparedness against a possible wave of Covid-19 infections.
India added 2,927 new cases on Wednesday – the highest one-day jump since 13 March – while deaths rose marginally.
Government data pushed the tally to over 43 million and total fatalities were 523,654.
On Sunday, the Prime Minister had urged citizens to be careful and not abandon Covid protocols in the coming festival season.
The Drugs Controller General of India approved three vaccines Tuesday for children of various ages, starting five.
Covaxin was cleared for emergency use for children between 6 and 12, Corbevax for those between 5 and 12, and Zycov-D for children above 12.
Also read: Covid: Over six-fold rise in patients under home isolation in Delhi