Expressing displeasure over the assertion made by “certain people” that the Union Territory was able to bring down the COVID-19 positivity rate because of the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research, Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on Wednesday said such statements reflected the “narrow mindedness” of such people.
“The ICMR gives guidelines to all States and Union Territories. That is because they are medical experts and their advice has to be followed. And all have to follow the guidelines. If we were able to bring down the positivity rate, it is because of the joint efforts of everyone. The Lt.Governor, Health Minister, legislators, our doctors and para medical staff have all contributed. We should not do politics over the issue and have a broad-minded approach,” the Chief Minister said while addressing a press conference through live streaming.
The health department was able to scale up the testing per day to 5,700. In the last 24 hours (from Tuesday 10 a.m. to Wednesday 10 a.m., the department conducted 5,709 tests. Of them, 518 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Efforts taken by the government had helped bring down the positivity rate to around 9%,. The recovery rate has gone up to 75%, he said. The government wanted to scale up the testing to more than 6,000 per day. The health department was trying to increase bed capacity at the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Research Institute, he said. “We cannot accept the credit being given to one person or organisation,” he said.
