Prime Minister Narendra Modi will review the coronavirus situation with state chief ministers, sources said yesterday.
The sources also said Modi will discuss the rollout of vaccine programme in the states.
He will hold virtual meetings with the chief ministers of Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, West Bengal and Kerala.
The central government is preparing on a war footing the vaccine delivery system as the Covid-19 cases have surpassed 9mn.
With 44,000 new Covid-19 cases, India’s tally reached 91,39,866 yesterday.
According to data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 511 new deaths occurred due to the deadly virus in the last 24 hours taking the toll to 133,738.
However, for the 16th straight day India reported less than 50,000 cases in a day.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it has adopted a multi-fold strategy to combat situation in the national capital as the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has started installation of 250 ventilators delivered by the federal government as part of its promise to help Delhi in its fight against the deadly virus.
In order to boost the fight against Covid-19, Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has also started the process to recruit 207 more junior doctors, the MHA said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra yesterday imposed conditions for all travellers arriving in the state from Gujarat, Goa, Rajasthan and Delhi, starting tomorrow.
The state has made it compulsory for a Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCT) negative test report for all people arriving by air, road or rail from these four states.
A day earlier Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar expressed concerns over the Covid-19 situation and warned of a possible second wave which could be a “tsunami”.
Also yesterday, the Delhi government withdrew an order to shut two markets in west Delhi for violating various coronavirus safety guidelines.
The city government on Sunday ordered the closure of the two markets in Punjabi Basti and Nangloi after it was found that traders were not following the Covid-19 protocols.
The two markets were ordered to be sealed till November 30.
The Delhi government clarified that it was not considering a lockdown again.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said: “I want to assure the people that the government has no intention of putting a lockdown again in Delhi. However, our request to the market associations is to regulate the market conditions themselves.”
In other developments, a healthcare company promoted by SpiceJet airline founder yesterday said it will conduct the RT-PCR test starting at Rs499.
The move by SpiceHealth is set to drastically reduce the cost of the test which ordinarily cost upwards of Rs3,500.
The RT-PCR is the most commonly used and the most accurate Covid test worldwide.
Besides, the report of the RT-PCR test will be made available within six hours from the time of sample collection compared to the average 24-48 hours taken for similar test reports at present.
According to a company statement, SpiceHealth and GeneStore will jointly establish mobile molecular diagnostic testing facilities across the country as a Make In India initiative.
“The testing kits and laboratory facilities have been certified by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the mobile laboratories have been duly accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL),” the statement said.
Passengers try to board a crowded bus in Mumbai yesterday.
