Will emerge victorious from pandemic with collective effort, says PM Modi at Covid-19 review meet

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday conducted a virtual meeting with chief ministers to review the COVID-19 situation in their respective states amid the Omicron-led surge in cases.

"Compared to previous variants, Omicron is rapidly spreading and is more transmissible," the PM said, adding that India's health experts are assessing the situation, making it clear that we have to stay alert, but also avoid panic.

The Prime Minister explained how the initial skepticism surrounding the Omicron variant is now slowly getting cleared.


"We 130 crore people of India, will surely emerge victorious from Coronavirus pandemic with our collective effort," Modi said in the address.

The PM also spoke on the need to further accelerate 'Har Ghar Dastak' programme to reach 100% vaccination coverage in the country.

"Rs 23,000 crores package allocated by the Centre to states has been utilized well with many states strengthening their health infrastructure. Center and states need to follow this pre-emptive, collective, and proactive approach this time too," the PM said.

He added that nearly 3 crore adolescents were vaccinated within 10 days, showing India's potential and preparedness to deal with the challenge.

Modi underlined that in addition to fighting Omicron, India also needs to be ready for any future variants of the coronavirus.

"Vaccination is the biggest weapon against Covid pandemic," he said, adding that the sooner we give precautionary doses to frontline workers and senior citizens, the stronger our healthcare system will become.

India reported 2,47,417 fresh cases on Thursday, which is 27% higher than yesterday. The country also had 84,825 recoveries in the last 24 hours, as per health ministry data.

The total tally of cases is around 3,63,17,927 in India, while the death toll has reached 4,85,035.

The PM reiterated that it is very important to safeguard the economy and the livelihood of the common people while framing Covid strategies.