“Lockdown can’t end coronavirus, need to push testing aggressively: Rahul Gandhi” says the headline by India Today.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the government must explore ways of gradually lifting the nationwide lockdown because lockdown can only “pause” the spread of coronavirus, not end it. “Lockdown is not a solution, neither a treatment. Therefore, we must find a strategy to come out from the lockdown phase. PM’s role should be to empower the states,” Rahul said, addressing a press conference in Delhi.
Elaborating on this, he said a lockdown cannot defeat the virus, it can only stop it for a while. “The biggest weapon to fight it is testing. Lockdown is like a pause button, it is not a solution. Once we come out, the virus will spread again,” he said, adding that a lockdown allows time to ramp up preparedness.
HUH? Did I read that right? What exactly is he trying to say? Remove the “pause button” immediately and let the disease “play out”? And how is testing a weapon to fight the disease? While I agree that more aggressive testing is required, and I have been saying that in many of my posts for the last 32 days, I don’t understand how testing is a “weapon”, Mr. Gandhi. Why so much interest in ending a lockdown, Mr. Gandhi? Are you missing partying with your friends? Or another trip to Thailand? And the last sentence in the previous para says that lockdown allows time to ramp up preparedness. So is that good or bad?
Describing the prevailing situation as an “emergency”, Rahul Gandhi said it is important that the fight against Covid-19 is taken to the district level. “To fight Covid-19, our main force should be at state and district level,” he said.
Where are we fighting it now, Mr. Gandhi? In Mars or Uranus? Please answer your political rival, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rahul Gandhi also hailed Kerala’s achievement in containing Covid-19 as a success and said it is an example. “The fight should be bottom up and not top down. PM’s role should be to empower the states.”
Kerala is definitely not the best example, Mr. Gandhi. If the numbers reported by each state are to be believed, amongst the states with over 25 million people, Bihar has the lowest “Incidence Rate” (number of people tested positive) of 0.619 per million, followed by Jharkhand at 0.75/million, Assam at 0.925/million, Chhattisgarh at 1.155/million, Odisha at 1.321/million, West Bengal at 2.365/million, Uttar Pradesh at 3.21/million and Karnataka at 4.731/million.
Kerala, with an Incidence Rate of 10.954/million, is at the No.12 position if you count states with population over 25 million, and at No.26 position if you count all states and UTs. But you probably named Kerala as you are an MP from there, isn’t that correct, Mr.Gandhi?
Read my Post on Growth of COVID-19 in India
Read yesterday’s Daily Update on Growth Worldwide
LATEST UPDATES (at 10:00 am UTC):
- The world has crossed 2.094 million cases
- The global death toll is over 135,500
- India has reached 12,799 cases and 427 deaths as per covid19india.org
- 5 countries have crossed 130,000 cases
- 9 countries have crossed 65,000 cases
- 15 countries have crossed 15,000 cases
- 23 countries have crossed 10,000 cases
- 28 countries have crossed 7,500 cases
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39 countries have crossed 5,000 cases (up from 16 on March 31)
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42 countries have crossed 4,000 cases (up from 29 on April 6)
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49 countries have crossed 3,000 cases (up from 30 on April 6)
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57 countries have crossed 2,000 cases (up from 30 on March 31)
- 5 countries have 12,500+ deaths (up from 2 on April 3)
- 10 countries have 3000+ deaths (up from 7 on April 3)
- 15 countries have 1000+ deaths (up from 10 on April 3)
- 16 countries have 500+ deaths (up from 12 on April 3)
- 44 countries have 100+ deaths (up from 23 on April 3)