As the Union government mulls an extension of the lockdown to further contain the spread of COVID-19, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Friday said a lockdown alone would not help unless it was backed by increased testing to identify and isolate hotspots.
“Merely extending the lockdown and thereby increasing the economic misery and the chances of people losing their livelihood and nutrition, which is most important to fight this pandemic, can’t be allowed to happen in order to contain the spread,” he said at a press conference here.
Panel’s suggestions
Mr. Yechury quoted the recommendation of a three-stage plan to lift the lockdown by an expert committee of the Kerala government, saying it had to be a staggered withdrawal by opening up clusters free of COVID-19 patients.
The 21-day lockdown had entered its third week but the government failed to increase the number of tests, which was the primary objective of the confinement. “The lockdown must have been utilised to identify areas to be isolated and sealed; otherwise we will have an economic crisis along with a health disaster,” he said.
India had one of the lowest levels of testing — 102 persons for every 10 lakh individuals. This was lower than Pakistan, which was testing at the rate of 197 for every 10 lakh persons. The countries that successfully contained COVID-19 like South Korea followed this very model.
Mr. Yechury said it was essential to hold the government accountable for what it had done in these three weeks, whether it was in augmenting the supply of personal protection equipment for front line health workers to extending financial help to State governments. States had been denied even of their legitimate dues, he alleged.
Food crisis
The country would face a grave food crisis if the government did not step in to facilitate harvest and buy the harvested produce from farmers, who were unable to sell in the absence of grain markets due to the lockdown. While the lockdown continued, the government should ensure that there were no starvation deaths. “As per reports, 117 people have died due to lack of food, or shelter or sheer exhaustion. This situation has to be corrected,” he stated.
The Kerala government had successfully shown the way through active state intervention in providing food, shelter and medical attention to migrant workers, he noted.
