Nobody expected a tsunami: Khattar on rising COVID-19 cases

Calling the huge surge in COVID-19 cases an “unexpected tsunami”, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said the state government is putting all its might to tackle the crisis.

“One expects that floods can come during rainy season, but no one expects a tsunami,” he said on the rising cases of the novel coronavirus infection.

He said his government was working at various levels, including ensuring availability of beds and medical oxygen supplies, besides ensuring necessary medicines.

Speaking at a news conference, Khattar noted that restrictions like prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC, daily night curfew, curtailed timings for closure of shops, curb on the number of people allowed for indoor and outdoor gatherings, are among the measures taken to contain the infection spread.

While extra beds are being added in hospitals, MBBS and PG students are being deployed to take care of COVID-19 patients, he said.

The Haryana government is also planning to avail the services of IAS, IPS, IFS and HCS officers, who were doctors or held MBBS or MD degrees prior to their joining the government service.

“We are putting all our might and in this we are getting everyone’s cooperation and support, that is, from common people, private sector to various other institutions,” the chief minister underlined.

Notably, Haryana has seen a big surge in coronavirus cases as well as fatalities in April.

Khattar said that no one had expected that there would be such a huge surge in cases, but now things were being put in place to deal with the situation.

He noted that last year the highest peak in infections during a 24-hour period was 3,100 cases, which until April 27, 2021 had shot to nearly four-fold.

He said the good thing was that the COVID fatality rate at present was 0.88 per cent as against 1.1 per cent seen last year.

Meanwhile, the CM ruled out the imposition of lockdown as a measure to check the virus spread, saying “it has been seen the economic disruption it (lockdown) causes and with great difficulty we have come out of it”.

“If cases come down in Delhi, it will have some affect in our districts like Gurgaon and Faridabad,” he said.

In response to a query, the BJP leader said there was a rush of patients from Delhi in cities like Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat, and now Ambala.

He also advised patients with mild or moderate symptoms not to rush to hospitals unless doctors treating them “strongly advise so”.