Centre appreciates steps taken by Haryana to contain Covid-19 spread

The Centre has appreciated the steps taken by Haryana to contain the spread of COVID-19, the state government said in a statement on Thursday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with chief ministers on the pandemic situation.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Health Minister Anil Vij joined the meeting through video conferencing from Chandigarh.

"The central government appreciated the steps taken by the Haryana government to contain the spread of COVID-19 (and it) was the key highlight of this meeting," according to the statement.

The Union Health Secretary lauded Haryana for optimum utilisation of the funds allotted by the central government to states for strengthening healthcare infrastructure, it said.

Haryana is one of the states with a higher percentage of vaccination coverage than the national average. Similarly, Haryana is also among the states that have fared better than the national average in terms of vaccination of adolescents in the 15-18 age group, the statement added.

Prime Minister Modi on Thursday asked chief ministers to ensure minimum damage to the livelihood of common people and economic activities as they work to contain the coronavirus, while noting that its Omicron variant is infecting people many times faster than earlier variants.

"We have to be alert, be careful. But we also have to ensure that there is no panic situation. We have to see that in this festive season, the alertness of people and administration is not lowered anywhere," he told chief ministers.

In his remarks at the meeting, the prime minister underlined the importance of vaccination and the need to further accelerate the 'Har Ghar Dastak' programme to achieve 100 per cent vaccination coverage.

Modi said the central and state governments must continue with pre-emptive, pro-active and collective approach followed so far in fighting the pandemic.

Haryana has witnessed a surge in COVID-19 cases in past fortnight.