Assailing the government for failing to draw up an effective response to the worrying spread of COVID-19 in the third wave, former Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy said while cases were increasing at a rapid rate, the actual magnitude of spread was masked by under-detection due to low test volumes.
In a virtual press conference, the senior Congress leader said even with under-detection of incidence, there had been a dramatic increase in fresh infections, in the range of 2,000 to 3,000 daily, as well as some of the highest test positivity rates (TPR) that the Union Territory had ever seen.
If there are more tests, the actual number of cases would be known, Mr. Narayanasamy said. He called for taking testing to the rural areas and reaching out to the villagers, where there was no proper guidance on treatment or isolation measures.
‘Surge after celebrations’
According to Mr. Narayanasamy, the surge in cases was solely because of the "foolhardy decision" to allow New Year celebrations, after which infections began to rise in Puducherry immediately.
Even after the decision of Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Chief Minister N. Rangasamy to permit New Year celebrations against the advice of political leaders, including himself, was criticised, neither of them had come up with a rationale, Mr. Narayanasamy said.
The departments concerned were also very lax on the enforcement of COVID-19 norms, he added. The net result of all this was that the administration, instead of protecting people’s health endangered it, Mr. Narayanasamy alleged.
