CHANDIGARH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked the other states to adopt Punjab’s COVID-19 micro-containment and house-to-house surveillance strategy which was helping the state successfully controlling the spread of the pandemic to a significant extent.
A statement issued by the chief minister’s office stated that during the video conference with chief ministers, Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh described the state’s model to combat Covid to PM Modi and suggested that all states should follow the same strategic approach to effectively counter the pandemic.
The CM suggested to the Prime Minister to set up a group of a few chief ministers to discuss and formulate a coordinated Centre-State response to the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the economy, the statement read.
Singh said that in early April, he (Amarinder) had said that Covid could go on till September, he had been called an alarmist by some people. But with experts now warning that the pandemic could continue even beyond September, it was important to learn to co-exist with it and cope with it better. Amarinder
requested the Centre to work closely with the states to ease the distress caused by the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.
Amarinder said that the focus was currently on micro-containment strategy to isolate small mohallas or village wards rather than close down larger areas. A special app had also been launched for house-to-house surveillance to detect any possible cases and persons with co-morbidities to catch high-risk patients
early. The CM also spoke about the 'Mission Fateh' launched to generate public awareness and the focus on facilitating a behavioural change through celebrity endorsements, videos, on-ground activities and through fines.
On the state’s preparedness to tackle the further spread of the pandemic, Singh said that 5000 isolation beds were ready in Government Level 2 & 3 facilities, in addition to 10-15,000 beds in Level 1 Covid Care Centres for mild patients. These Level 1 beds can be scaled to 30,000, if the need arises, he said, adding that for tertiary level care, the state government had also secured the participation of private hospitals for tertiary level care.
Amarinder said a detailed memorandum had already been sent to the Central government listing out the impact of Covid-19 and also seeking fiscal and non-fiscal assistance. Even as he thanked the Prime Minister and Finance Minister for the release of GST payment of around Rs 2800 crore in early June.