DMK president M.K. Stalin on Thursday demanded that the government test occupants of every household for COVID-19, in the five zones in Chennai that have seen more number of cases. The zones are Royapuram, Tondiarpet, Kodambakkam, Tiru.Vi. Ka Nagar and Teynampet.
Mr. Stalin, in a statement, slammed the government’s handling of the pandemic, as cases crossed 1,000, every day, in the last four days.
Mr. Stalin also demanded that the government hold talks with the federation of doctors and nurses who threatened to go on a one-day token strike on Friday with a slew of demands.
“Doctors and nurses are involved in the most important work of treating patients and helping them recover during the pandemic. It is unfortunate that this government is constantly keeping them in a state where they have to fight for everything,” Mr. Stalin said.
He also demanded that the government isolate the five zones in Chennai from the rest of the city, ensure that no one from outside enters these zones, provide all essentials to residents of these zones and undertake vigorous door-to-door testing in every household.
The DMK president said that compared to the COVID-19 infection rate in States such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the infection rate in Chennai alone was higher than these States. “Has the AIADMK government realised this,” Mr. Stalin asked. He said that with the ever-increasing numbers, people were getting scared.
He also said that the large-scale movement of vehicles in Chennai raised doubts over whether the curfew was still in force, as claimed by the government.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/test-every-household-in-5-chennai-zones/article31752277.ece
