PM chairs meeting on COVID-19 situation, suggests observing April 11 to 14 as 'Tika Utsav'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that a challenging situation was emerging again due to COVID-19 and urged states to ramp up testing. Chairing a meeting with chief ministers over the COVID-19 situation in the country, he said many states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Punjab had crossed the peak of the first wave in terms of COVID-19 cases and it was a matter of serious concern.

He said the period between April 11 to April 14 can be observed as 'Tika (vaccination) Utsav' for COVID-19 vaccination. "A challenging situation is emerging again. We need to fight the second surge in cases. Many states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Punjab have crossed the first wave of peak in terms of COVID-19 cases.

This is a serious concern. People have become complacent. In most states administration has also become relaxed," he said. "I appeal to you all to stress on COVID-19 testing. Our target is to do 70 per cent RT-PCR tests. 

Let the number of positive cases come high, but do maximum testing," he added. The Prime Minister said that April 11 is the birth anniversary of Jyotiba Phule and April 14 is the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar.

"Can we do a mass vaccination programme from 11-14th April for the eligible people with zero wastage and use our resources optimally?" he asked.

The Prime Minister said people should not become careless after taking the COVID-19 vaccine.