Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday said there was no need to suspend the ongoing session of the Assembly, adding that the government had taken all necessary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“There is no need to fear. I also went to the hospital for a test, and you can also get it done. The State has a population of eight crore, and only one person has tested positive for COVID-19 (since discharged). Diseases are natural, and no one can prevent them. We are frightened because COVID-19 has spread across 136 countries, and news from all over the world says it is dangerous [but there is nothing to fear],” he said in the Assembly while responding to DMK Deputy Floor Leader Duraimurugan and Congress Legislative Party leader K.R. Ramasamy, who had asked about the possibility of suspending the session.
Mr. Palaniswami said the government would provide protection to all members of the Assembly and was ready to subject them to testing. “People are allowed to enter the Assembly only after testing [for high temperature],” he said.
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Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar, who explained the measures taken by the government, pointed out that visitors were no longer permitted to watch the Assembly proceedings.
Responding to DMK president M.K. Stalin, he said the government was open and transparent when it came to taking action to control the spread of the disease.
He said testing facilities were available in five hospitals, each of which had the capacity to carry out 100 tests per day. “While Kerala, Maharashtra and other States have reported more cases, Tamil Nadu has had only one patient who had tested positive, and he was discharged after treatment,” the Minister said.
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As regards Mr. Stalin’s request to allow private laboratories to test patients, the Minister said the State government was coordinating with the Centre to get permission for the same. Of the 1,80,062 people who had been tested, only 2,221 had been quarantined. He said passengers arriving from foreign countries were being subjected to screening, and suspected cases were being quarantined.