PM Modi to address nation at 5:00pm today: Details here
What's the story
PM Narendra Modi is set to address the nation on Monday at 5:00pm where he is expected to speak on the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country as well as the vaccination drive. The announcement comes amid a significant decline in the number of daily cases as India reported its lowest single-day spike in two months on Monday. Here's more.
Information
Address likely to focus on the improving COVID-19 situation
The Prime Minister's address is most likely to focus on the gradually improving COVID-19 situation in the country as several state governments have kickstarted the process of unlocking their states and slowly easing restrictions imposed to control the spread of the deadly virus.
Twitter Post
Here's what the Prime Minister's Office tweeted
Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi will address the nation at 5 PM today, 7th June.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 7, 2021
COVID-19 situation
India reported lowest single-day spike in cases in two months
Notably, the number of daily COVID-19 cases is steadily on the decline in the country in recent days indicating that there has been a substantial improvement in the situation. On Monday morning, India reported 100,636 cases in the last 24 hours—the lowest single-day spike in two months. It also registered 2,427 fatalities in this period—the lowest in 45 days.
Spike in Numbers
India saw massive daily spikes in April and May
To recall, India witnessed massive daily spikes in COVID-19 infections in April-May when lakhs of people tested positive every day, forcing states to implement various curbs to control the spread. PM Modi's last address to the nation was on April 20 during which he urged states to use lockdowns as the last resort against COVID-19 and rather focus on creating micro-containment zones.
Vaccination policy
Centre criticized by several states over vaccination policy
During today's address, PM Modi may also discuss his government's vaccination policy that has been criticized by many states and experts. Several states face an acute shortage of vaccines to inoculate their people against COVID-19. To address the scarcity, the Centre recently announced that over 200 crore vaccines will be manufactured in the country in August-December. Moreover, it would also import some vaccines.
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Only 3.3% of population vaccinated fully so far
Currently, India is using only three vaccines as part of its vaccination drive: Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN, SII's Covishield, and Russia's Sputnik V. So far, over 23 crore doses have been administered in the country but only 3.3% of the total population has been fully vaccinated.
Details
Prime Minister may also discuss the possible third wave
Although details regarding the agenda of the Prime Minister's address are unavailable, he's also likely to discuss the anticipated third COVID-19 wave—in which children are more likely to get affected—and measures being taken to tackle it. Last month, during a review meeting, he asked officials from 10 states to regularly collect and analyze data on COVID-19 transmission among youth and children in each district.