Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday held three meetings to review the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Pune. While the first meeting was with the officials of district and state government, the second and third meetings were with people's representatives and editors of various newspapers, respectively. “Next month will be crucial for containment of Covid-19 in Pune. Hence, it is necessary that we change our appeal from 'Don't be afraid, take precaution' to the new appeal of 'Don't be careless, take precaution',” Javadekar said after meeting newspaper editors in Pune. Briefing media on Saturday evening, the minister said, “We received many suggestions and we have formulated a plan of action. We will increase antigen tests in containment zones. We will also soon begin the second round of serological survey; this time, the sample will be bigger.” He added that the third initiative will be about implementation of directives to wear masks. Javadekar said strict fines, including Rs 500 for not wearing masks and Rs 1,000 for spitting in public, will be levied on those found breaking the rules set in place to check the spread of virus. “We need to break the chain. Cooperation from the media is very important in this fight. It is everyone’s fight. Coordination among various agencies is necessary. We have also decided that updated information will be shared periodically so that there is no information gap. The Centre will give all possible help in this regard. In a day or two, we will come out with an action plan for jumbo facilities,” Javadekar said. In the meeting, editors told the minister that a fatigue was being observed due to continuous hard work of three-four months and that law enforcement agencies seemed to be exhausted and were seen in fewer numbers on roads. They also suggested to create a one-stop solution for providing information about ambulance and availability of beds.
