PM Modi raises concern over massive tourist influx at hill stations, says 'not the time to enjoy'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 12 held a meeting with CMs of 8 states to discuss the COVID-19 situation amid concerns over the coronavirus numbers in the region.

Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 13 urged chief ministers of northeast states to step up measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid a high positivity rate and heavy influx of tourists from across India.

During an interaction with chief ministers of eight North-Eastern states through video conferencing, the prime minister also said the vaccination drive needs to be continuously ramped up to combat the third wave of the pandemic.

The PM said, "In hill stations, people are not following protocols. I am worried to see the rush and people without masks. This is not the time to enjoy."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with Chief Ministers of the North-Eastern states on the #COVID19 situation via video conferencing. pic.twitter.com/Q1PoLfVOjf

— ANI (@ANI) July 13, 2021

Modi urged people not to compromise on COVID protocols to prevent a third wave of coronavirus. "It is true that tourism and business have been greatly affected due to Corona. But today I will say with great emphasis that it is not right to have huge crowds in hill stations, markets without masks," Modi said.

"We all need to work together to stop the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic," he said. Modi also said that the third wave will come "when we invite it".

"We have to remain alert and not become complacent else we will suffer," Modi said, adding that social distancing, mask, and vaccination can weaken any mutation.

Emphasizing the need to keep an eye on every variant of the coronavirus, he said experts are constantly studying how troubling the virus could be after mutations, but in such a dynamic situation, prevention and treatment are very important.

"We have to move forward by improving the infrastructure related to testing and treatment. For this, recently the cabinet has also approved a new package of Rs 23,000 crore. Every state in the North East can take help from this package to strengthen its health infrastructure," Modi said.

The prime minister said the COVID-19 situation was worrisome in some districts of North-East and urged the chief ministers to stay alert and act fast to check the further spread of the virus.

The PM said stricter steps were needed at the micro-level to check the virus spread and called for greater emphasis on micro-containment zones.

"We need to continue accelerating our vaccination drive," he added.

The prime minister on July 12 held a meeting with CMs of 8 states to discuss the COVID-19 situation amid concerns over the coronavirus numbers in the region.

Modi interacted with the chief ministers of Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram via video conferencing.

After a crippling second wave of COVID-19, cases are once again on the rise in some states. While most parts of the country have seen a steady decline in the COVID-19 numbers, the northeast region has been a cause of concern with the number of cases either rising or not falling in line with the nationwide trend.