PM holds Covid meeting amid renewed concerns, says 'pandemic far from over'

Amid rising Covid cases in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday directed officials to conduct regular mock drills at hospitals, enhance whole genome sequencing in positive samples, and ensure Covid-appropriate behaviour. 

He stressed the pandemic was far from over and there was a need to monitor the status across the country on a regular basis. It was the first Covid-related meeting held by the PM this year.  

The high-level meeting, chaired by the PM, came against the backdrop of a spike in influenza as well as Covid-19 cases in the past two weeks.

Covid-19 cases have risen to