Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami would be having a crucial meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the latter would be convening a high-level virtual meeting with the Chief Ministers and Health Ministers of seven states which have heavy caseloads of COVID-19 cases. 

The Prime Minister would be chairing the meet on Wednesday - September 23 during which he would be taking stock of the COVID-19 situation in the seven worst-hit states -Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, and Punjab. The official statement from the Center concerning the meet said that these seven states account for more than 63 percent of the active COVID-19 cases in the country. 

Besides that, these seven states have 65.5 percent of the total confirmed cases and 77 percent of the total deaths. The Center said that it has been leading the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic with effective collaboration and close coordination with the state governments and the union territories. 

The statement further noted that along with the five states, Punjab and Delhi have reported the sharpest spikes in the number of cases. Maharashtra, Punjab, and Delhi have been reporting a high mortality rate with more than two percent Case Fatality Rate (CFR). Apart from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, the rest five states have shown the positivity rate of virus cases above the national average of 8.52 percent. 

According to reports, the Prime Minister will be carrying out the extensive review with the Chief Ministers and health ministers of these seven states over the containment measures and fight against the outbreak. The statement added that the high-level meetings and reviews have ensured essential and adequate availability of medical oxygen in hospitals and healthcare facilities in treating the COVID-19 patients. 

The statement further reads that the Central government has also been regularly deploying multi-disciplinary teams to states and union territories to support on the grounds of containment, testing, surveillance, and efficient clinical management. The Center has been extending its support to the states towards enhancing the healthcare and medical infrastructure. The reports say that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister would demand the Prime Minister to release the outstanding funds to the state government.