Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that India is in a critical phase of tackling the spread of coronavirus, adding that the states and Centre must work together to combat the pandemic. Interacting with chief ministers of all states via video conferencing to discuss measures to combat COVID-19, the PM added that there is no need to panic.

Tackling the challenge together: The PM said that the threat of the pandemic is common for all states and underscored the need of Centre and all states working together. He said that while participation of citizens is necessary to combat the challenge, but panic needs to be avoided. He added thatgiven the global context of the spread of the virus in various countries,constant vigilance is of paramount importance.

He said that the next 3-4 weeks are crucial in efforts tocontain the spread of the virus, and the most important measure for containmentis ‘social distancing’. He requested the Chief Ministers to ensure effectiveimplementation of the same.

Steps taken till now: Health Secretary, Government of India,Preeti Sudan informed about the steps taken till now to contain the spread ofthe virus and mentioned how the Prime Minister has personally monitored andsupervised the efforts thus far. She gave an overview of ongoing cooperationwith states, monitoring of international passengers, use of communitysurveillance to track spread, logistics of testing facilities, travelrestrictions and evacuation of Indian citizens from abroad.

Dr Balram Bhargava, DG of ICMR, said that India is currentlyin phase 2 of transmission, emphasizing that at present India is in the windowfor taking action to minimize the risk of transmission of phase 3. He talkedabout the importance of judicious use of health facilities and need to focus onramping up quarantine facilities and isolation wards.