PM Modi holds first meeting of the year with the CM to discuss Covid

Last updated on January 14th, 2022 at 08:11 am

On Thursday, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi interacted with chief ministers of all the states and the Union Territories in the first such meeting of the year where they discussed the growing concern of Covid in the country.

Before the meeting, the prime minister had interacted with the health ministry officials asking them to strengthen the ongoing vaccination drive in the nation. The sudden call for the meeting came after the nation witnessed over 2.47 lakh fresh infections in a massive 24-hour surge.

The sharp increase took the total tally of India’s active cases to 11.1 lakh which is a huge cause of concern as the latest variant has been found to be more transmissible than the previous variants of Covid.

The situation in the country started worsening in the last week of December when during and after Chritsmas holiday, there were continuous breaches of protocols in the country, especially the capital. Many have already termed this sudden rise as the third wave which is a further cause for concern.

Omicron, the latest variant, was detected in South Africa in November 2021 and the scientists claimed that it is more transmissible than the previous Delta, which caused the second wave in the country. The virus is known to multiply in the throat itself and leads to less severe disease as its impact on the lungs is believed to be minimal. However, the experts have advised against taking Omicron lightly and said that it is equally fatal to people who are not vaccinated by the antibody.