New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting via video-conferencing with chief ministers of all the states on Wednesday, to discuss the recent surge in Covid-19 cases across the country.
The meeting is scheduled for 12.30 pm on March 17.
PM Modi, who has been holding meetings regularly since the coronavirus outbreak, last interacted with chief ministers in January before the vaccination drive began.
In the meeting, he had announced that the Centre will bear the expenses of vaccinating nearly three crore healthcare and frontline workers in the first round.
The inoculation drive has now moved on to the second phase to cover people over 60 years of age, and those aged above 45 years and have comorbidities.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday said negligence towards COVID-19 appropriate behaviour is the main reason behind rising cases, adding that few states account for more than 80 per cent of the cases.
He stressed that coronavirus appropriate behaviour like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing should be followed despite the availability of a vaccine against the disease.
India has registered 24,492 cases in the last 24 hours with 131 fatalities due to the deadly contagion, according to the data.
As many as 24 states and Union territories reported a rise in active cases, with Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab and Karnataka registering the maximum number of cases.
-CHK
