Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it “can’t be business as usual” after the lockdown and certain safeguards would have to be taken.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a video conference with chief ministers of all states to discuss ways to check the spread of coronavirus.
Modi told the chief ministers it is important to formulate a common exit strategy to ensure the staggered re-emergence of the population once the lockdown ends on April 14, an official statement said.
“The states and centre must formulate a common exit strategy to ensure staggered re-emergence of the population once lockdown ends,” a government statement quoted Modi telling the chief ministers in the video conference, and he asked the states “to brainstorm and send suggestions for the exit strategy”.
Modi said that “it is imperative to work on a war footing, identify hotspots of the virus, encircle them and ensure that the virus does not spread out” and stressed on the need for maintaining law and order. “COVID-19 has attacked our faith and belief and is threatening our way of life,” he said and appealed to the states “to reach out to community leaders and social welfare organisations at the state, district, town and block levels to build up a united front based on community-approach in the battle against the pandemic”.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and top bureaucrats were present at the meeting along with the prime minister.
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This is for the second time the prime minister is holding a video conference with the chief ministers after the spread of coronavirus, and the first after the 21-day lockdown came into force.
He had earlier interacted with the CMs on March 20. The lockdown was enforced on March 24.
According to the health ministry, the death toll due to coronavirus touched 50 on Thursday while the number of positive cases has risen to 1,965 in the country.
The sudden spike has been attributed to a religious gathering in Delhi’s Nizamuddin where participants from all over the country as well as abroad took part.
(Input from Agencies)
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