PM Modi for door-to-door testing in rural areas, calls for oxygen distribution plans

Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed top officials on Saturday to chalk out elaborate distribution plans for supply of oxygen in rural areas, door-to-door testing and surveillance of Covid-19 spread. He also told officials to start training of ASHA and Anganwadi workers on how to respond with guidelines in an “easy language with illustrations”.

In a high-level meeting a day after he called for readiness in rural areas to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, the PM discussed the overall situation, state of the vaccination drive and spread to rural areas. Also, the PM emphasised that power supply to rural areas should be ensured for smooth operation of medical devices, especially oxygen concentrators and ventilators.

He also took “serious note” of reports of unutilised ventilators in some states and called for an “audit of installation and operation of ventilators” provided by the Centre. “The Prime Minister added that refresher training for properly operating ventilators should be provided to healthcare workers, if necessary,” said an official statement. Besides this, according to the statement, the PM asked officials to encourage states to “report their numbers transparently without any pressure of high numbers showing adversely on the efforts”.


On Friday, the PM had cautioned that Covid19 is spreading to rural areas while calling for panchayats to play an important role in dealing with the virus which was an “invisible enemy that is constantly changing its form”.

Modi emphasised that localised containment strategies are the need of the hour, especially for states with high test positivity rates in districts.

PM Wants Testing to be Scaled up
“The Prime Minister instructed that testing needs to be scaled up further, with use of both RT PCR and Rapid Tests, especially in areas with high test positivity rates,” said the statement. During the meeting, the PM underlined that the fight against the pandemic was being carried out under the guidance of “scientists and subject experts” that will continue to be the case.

This apart, officials briefed the PM about the vaccination process and the state-wise coverage of 45-plus population. The roadmap for future vaccine availability was also discussed. He directed officials to work closely with states to ramp up the speed of vaccination.