Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao lost his cool in the Assembly on Saturday over remarks of Congress floor leader Bhatti Vikramarka that the Centre was not taking all out measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao said the Centre had already taken several measures, including cancelling of visas of foreign nationals from seven countries, but the Congress member made a mala fide remark. Of the130 crore population in the country, only 65 persons were affected by Coronavirus, including 17 foreign nationals, while two persons died and 10 persons were cured . One person was discharged from Gandhi Hospital in the city.
The Chief Minister said governments would take responsible action but not create panic. The State government earmarked 150 rooms in Dhulapally and Vikarabad to isolate air passengers coming from seven notified countries and stationed 200 health staff at the international airport for screening the international passengers.
Canadian Prime Minister’s wife also tested positive for Coronavirus but he announced it calmly four or five days later and quarantined himself too. The Central and State governments were taking ample measures without creating panic.
Preventive measures
Mr.Vikramarka pointed out that the coronavirus would not have spread rapidly had the developed and technologically advanced countries taken comprehensive preventive measures initially. Even in China, caution sounded by six doctors against coronavirus was suppressed in December and it became a pandemic now.
“We also should take serious measures like China which constructed 1,000 bed hospital in 10 days. Yesterday one coronavirus patient from Karnataka who came to Hyderabad for treatment died while going back to his home town. So public anxiety was mounting. But the government only activated one ring tone about coronavirus and left it at that,” he quipped.
Closure of malls
In other States, crowded places like malls, schools, gyms, were closed and Telangana also should adopt similar measures. He even took a dig at the Chief Minister for his statement in the Assembly the other day that one paracetamol tablet was enough to control the fever and virus would not survive in the temperatures around 27 or 28 degrees. Mr. Bhatti said, however, a doctor disagreed with it as the virus infected even when the body temperature was 35 or 36 degrees.
Reacting sharply to it, Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao said he was on record when he quoted a scientist and some persons were creating unnecessary controversy and quipped that the “dangerous coronovirus that affected the country was Congress”. He urged people to observe personal hygiene as per government guidelines and assured that the government would do its duty in implementing preventive measures.
