Not a single person died due to lack of oxygen in Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan said (File)
Thiruvananthapuram:
At a time when Kerala is facing criticism for allegedly failing to manage the COVID situation amid high test positivity rate and rise in daily cases, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has dismissed the criticism, calling it ” unwanted” and suspected it as an attempt to undermine the people. Support in the state’s fight against the pandemic.
In an article published in the latest edition of the weekly “WorryMr Vijayan, one of the mouthpiece publications of the ruling CPI(M) in the state, said that a section of the society is deliberately trying to create confusion among the people by criticizing the state’s disease management strategies.
He alleged that these steps were to incite public sentiments against the government and create a situation where people take the fight against the virus lightly.
The chief minister’s statement assumes significance as the opposition Congress-led UDF and BJP are urging him to end their silence as daily Covid cases crossed the 30,000-mark this week.
In the article titled “Badal Nayangale Kooduthal Shaktipeeduthum“(Alternative policies will be strengthened further), Mr. Vijayan asked if Kerala’s Covid management is wrong, what model should the state adopt.
“In Kerala, not a single person has died due to lack of oxygen. No one has been denied access to health services or faced a situation of non-availability of hospital beds during emergencies,” Mr Vijayan said.
Defending his point that the current criticisms are unwarranted, he said all three seroprevalence surveys conducted in the country had confirmed that Kerala had the least number of cases of the disease.
Without wasting a single dose of vaccine, Kerala has also demonstrated a model in vaccination, he said, adding that the state has a Covid mortality rate of less than 0.5%, which is only a third of the country’s total fatalities.
“Those who criticize the government are not unaware that the second wave of the disease started a little late compared to many other places and that Kerala has a higher number of people at risk of contracting the disease,” They said.
Apart from all this, they also know that full immunization is the most effective way to prevent epidemics, and it is the responsibility of the Center to ensure this.
“But, they are deliberately creating confusion among the people by hiding all this. This is an attempt to dilute the support extended by the people for the government’s fight against the disease,” the chief minister said.
Stating that his government does not want to listen to unnecessary criticism and shy away from its responsibilities, Mr Vijayan also said that they are making effective interventions to tackle the imminent third wave of the disease.
The Kerala government on Thursday faced criticism from its political opponents and public health experts for its alleged “reckless” and “silly” decisions regarding COVID-19 management, which according to them has led to a surge in cases and testing of Kerala. The positivity rate has increased. Which currently accounts for about 70% of the national total daily infections.
30,007 new cases were reported in the state on Thursday.
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