PM Narendra Modi asks officials to ensure expeditious availability of safety gears for health staff
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday directed officials to ensure expeditious availability of safety gears for medical personnel. Presiding over the joint meeting of the 11 empowered groups, Modi asked the officials to ensure availability of ventilators in sufficient numbers for use in critical care.The empowered groups briefed the Prime Minister about the outcome of the consultations held with stakeholders in the past few days. The Prime Minister asked for sufficient production of masks, gloves and ventilators.
With the government advising the use of masks by people in public places and BJP chief J P Nadda calling upon party workers to make the use of facial protection a mass movement, the Prime Minister is learnt to be keen that every possible source of manufacture of basic protective gears be made available in a short span of time.
Also, with the 21-day lockdown concluding on April 14, the government is keen that masks and gloves are available at affordable prices for the people, who will gradually start coming out of their homes. The empowered groups are learnt to have underlined the overwhelming response of start ups, self-help groups, private enterprises and industrialists who are working making available low cost ventilators, test kits, mask and gloves in a short span of time.
The Prime Minister also took stock of the availability of space for quarantine facilities as corona cases shoot up. With hotel owners coming forward to provide space to doctors and nurses, the empowered groups also informed the Prime Minister about the expansion of hospital facilities. On Wednesday, Modi will interact with floor leaders of political parties which have more than five MPs. The attempt is to make them aware of the steps being taken by the government to deal with the situation arising out of the pandemic.