New Maha campaign to aid anti-COVID-19 fight: Thackeray to PM

"The PM referred to this example at the end of the meeting and said wearing masks was a must," the statement added. The Chief Minister said 59,000 health teams have been set up to carry out the 'My family, my responsibility campaign and so far 26 per cent of the households have been covered.

Mumbai, Sep 23 (PTI)Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday expressed confidence that his governments just launched My family - my responsibility campaign would strengthen the fight against COVID-19 in the state which has recorded more than 12 lakh cases so far. In a video conference meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Thackeraysaid case fatality and COVID-19 positivity rates are also expected to come down due to the mass health campaign aimed to curb the coronavirus spread.

The meeting was attended by Chief Ministers of high COVID-19 burden states. Thackeray told the PM his government was in the process of setting up tele-ICU system in rural areas of Maharashtra and also post-COVID care centres for those who have recovered from the infection.

The 'My family, my responsibility campaign launched on September 15 is aimed at effective healthcare education for control of the pandemic. It is being conducted in two phases- spread over September and October- with target to reach out to 2.25 crore households twice.

Besides creating public awareness about COVID-19, the campaign envisages conducting health checks to identify symptoms followed by proper treatment of patients. A statement issued by the Chief Ministers Office (CMO) said Modi, during the meeting, remarked that the people of Maharashtra were facing the health crisis bravely.

The Prime Minister suggestedthat dedicated teams be appointed for 20 districts which have high spread of the virus, it said. "If the virus spread is controlled in these 20 districts, the national figure would see an impact, the statement quoted Modi as saying.

Thackeray requested the PM to address the nation regarding the country's fight against COVID-19 in the backdrop of upcoming festivals. The Chief Minister apprised the PM about steps being undertaken by his government to curb the spread of COVID-19 and said the target is to have 1.5 lakh tests every day.

He saida notification will soon be issued regarding protocols for Navratri and Dussehra festivals (both in October) just like it was done for Ganesh Chaturthi, which was celebrated in a low-key manner. Thackeray asked for resolving issue of rates of oxygen needed for medical purpose and sought proper regulation for its distribution.

He said vaccination trial process should be completed early and management of its distribution should also be done effectively. The statement said Modi appreciated Thackerays example of likening difficulty regarding use of face masks to initial problems in wearing spectacles.

"During the meeting, Thackeray said initially, wearing spectacles is difficult as it is hard on nose and face. But one gets used to it with passage of time. "The PM referred to this example at the end of the meeting and said wearing masks was a must," the statement added.

The Chief Minister said 59,000 health teams have been set up to carry out the 'My family, my responsibility campaign and so far 26 per cent of the households have been covered. During this period, 4,824 COVID-19 positive and 7.54 lakh comorbid patients were found, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)