Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a review meeting on Saturday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Principal Secretary to PM PK Sinha, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Health Secretary Preeti Sudan and ICMR DR Balram Bhargava were among the attendees.

During the meeting, PM Modi reviewed pandemic projections for the next two months and directed officials of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to undertake emergency planning in consultation with states and union territories. The Prime Minister also advised the Health Ministry to review preparedness for the monsoon season.

The Prime Minister also took stock of the Covid-19 outbreak in states/UTs where Covid-19 numbers are rising rapidly despite a nationwide lockdown. A presentation was also made on the current status and likely scenario of Covid-19 cases in India in the ‘medium-term’ by Dr Vinod Paul, Member NITI Aayog and Convener of the Empowered Group of Medical Emergency Management Plan

Experts told PM Modi that two-thirds of the total number of confirmed cases of infection have been reported from five states with an overwhelming proportion of cases in big cities. Measures were also discussed to augment testing as well as ramp up the number of hospital beds to effectively handle the situation when the infection peaks.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took note of the recommendations of the concerned Empowered Group on city and district-wise requirements of hospital and isolation beds.

(With inputs from Himanshu Mishra)