MUMBAI:Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accepted Maharashtra Chief Minister’s suggestion that religious leaders should be asked to refrain from holding large gatherings.
Thackeray made the suggestion during a video conference with Modi, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said.
Modi held a video conference with all chief ministers in the morning to discuss ways to check the spread of coronavirus.
During the meeting, Thackeray told Modi that the Maharashtra administration has traced all citizens from the state who participated in the religious congregation organised by Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin in Delhi, and those people have been quarantined.
The prime minister also accepted Thackeray’s suggestion that religious leaders should be asked to refrain from holding large gatherings.
Modi asked allchief ministers to speak to religious leaders from their respective states and ask them to tell the community members about the need for social distancing and avoiding large gatherings, the CMO said in a statement.
Modi also supported Thackeray’s view that citizens need to be in good mental health during the lockdown period, it said.
Thackeray told the prime minister that the nationwide lockdown will be completely followed in the state.
All the chief ministers sought direction from Modi on how to handle the situation post the lockdown period.
To this, the prime minister said the state governments should end the lockdown in a phased manner as per the local situation, the CMO said.
“He also asked the states to ensure people don’t come out on streets in large numbers,” the statement said.
Thackeray said his government made provisions of food and accommodation for 3.25 lakh migrant workers in state-run shelter homes and special medical assistance was being provided to ensure they remain in good mental health.
The chief minister also said that sufficient isolation facilities have been created in Mumbai and as per the new protocol, asymptomatic persons are also being isolated outside hospitals.
The local administration has taken over some empty premises for this purpose and there is plan to create more isolation and quarantine facilities.
Thackeray also said that since private labs have been permitted to conduct coronavirus tests, the results of samples tested in two to three days are being declared together, and this is the reason why there seems to be a spurt in the number of COVID-19 cases. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
