‘Take action against second wave on a war-footing’

The Villupuram unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has urged the district administration to take action on a war-footing to overcome the unprecedented situation caused by the second wave of COVID-19.

In a memorandum submitted to Collector A. Annadurai, CPI (M) district secretary N. Subramanian said that Villupuram district had recorded about 3,258 cases from April 21 to May 3, while 11 deaths had taken the toll to 127.

The steep rise in positive cases had become a cause for concern, he said.

Testing in PHCs

Mr. Subramanian also demanded that the administration ramp up testing in all the primary health centres and intensify the vaccination drive that is under way.

The CPI (M) also called upon the administration to withdraw mandatory home quarantine for positive patients who had mild symptoms.

Isolation must

The risk of transmission is high if the infected person is not isolated in a separate room with toilet facilities. Hence, all positive patients should be admitted in quarantine facilities run by the government.

The CPI (M) also demanded the administration to ensure a minimum of 100 days of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and immediate cash transfer as a number of people had lost their jobs during the pandemic.