TDP president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday accused the Andhra Pradesh government of under-reporting corona cases in the state, saying the Jagan administration was conducting inadequate testing and that the testing system captured only a fraction of the cases in the hospitals.
Stating that inadequate testing and under reporting is not a good sign, he said such flawed approach will lead to a disaster which the governments won’t be able to handle. “Experts predict that the number of positive cases in the country will surge to 60,000. The state government has been under-reporting the cases. Kerala could contain the spread of the virus by bringing transparency in testing. Andhra Pradesh should step up testing facilities on a war-footing to identify and isolate positive cases for prevention of virus transmission.”
He said conducting timely medical tests is the first step in containing the spread of corona virus. This is particularly important for a virus like this one, which seems able to spread before people show symptoms, or when their symptoms are mild. “The government should have a clear foresight, but it seems the government is lying on the number of tests it is conducting. There is no transparency. In one single day yesterday, the state reported 44 cases. The government should realize that we contain the spread of the virus only with effective testing. Testing should be ramped up to detect more cases,” Naidu argued
Further, Naidu said if today the testing situation is any better in AP, it is mainly because of the foresightdness of the TDP which had envisioned MedTech Zone. “Today, MedTech Zone has come handy in manufacturing rapid testing devices and ventilators,” he said. As the country is caught in the grip of corona virus with acute shortage of testing kits and ventilators, MedTech Zone seems to be a hope in the end of the tunnel to make the country self-sufficient in manufacturing crucial devices required to fight the battle against corona virus.
Further, Naidu said the government should rescue the migrant workers and daily wagers who are facing several hardships as their livelihood has been robbed due to the complete lockdown.