Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday during a meeting with Chief Ministers asked all the states to observe April 11 to April 14 as Tika (vaccination) Utsav’ to speed up the COVID-19 vaccination drive.
PM Modi said that a challenging situation is emerging again due to COVID-19 and urged states to ramp up testing as many states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Punjab had crossed the peak of the first wave in terms of COVID-19 cases. This is a serious concern. People have become complacent, In most states administration has also become relaxed, he added.
“I appeal to you all to stress on COVID19 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.