Fewer tests, bid to block NRKs and untraced sources, UDF lists govt’s lapses 

The Opposition UDF has come out with a slew of allegations pointing out the lapses of the LDF government in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.
Benny Behanan
Benny Behanan

KOCHI: The Opposition UDF has come out with a slew of allegations pointing out the lapses of the LDF government in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic. Citing the latest figures, UDF convener Benny Behanan said Kerala has fared poorly in conducting tests to detect Covid-19 when compared to the other states in the country.

“Only 1.44 lakh tests have been conducted so far and the state is in the 16th position in the country in this regard. Even in Jammu and Kashmir, about 2.5 lakh tests have been conducted. The chief minister is targeting the Opposition to divert the public attention from such lapses,” he said in Kochi on Monday.The government is not implementing what it had announced as part of the fight against the pandemic. At a time when the cases are spiking, the government is shirking its responsibility. In terms of tests conducted per million population, Kerala is in the 22nd position, he added.

“The number of sentinel surveillance tests conducted for detecting whether there is community transmission is also very low. The government is not ready to publish the results of these tests. So far, 426 persons (13.4 per cent) have contracted SARS-CoV-2 infection through contact. Of them, the government has failed to identify the sources of infection of 65 persons,” said Behanan. The government, which had claimed that it would arrange quarantine facilities for 1.5 lakh of the 2.5 expatriates expected to return to the state, stopped institutional quarantining for them when just around 10,000 expatriates arrived in the state. 

The government is attempting to block the arrival of NRKs. It has tried to sabotage the efforts of Incas and KMCC to bring back NRKs on chartered flights. The chief minister and other ministers are carrying out a campaign among the public that those returning to the state are carriers of the virus, he added. 
According to the UDF convener, no one has attacked political leaders more heinously than the chief minister and CPM leaders.

‘UDF decision will be implemented in Kottayam’
Responding to a query, UDF convener Benny Behanan said the pact on power sharing brokered by the UDF will be implemented in Kottayam district panchayat. “The UDF has taken the decision after holding talks with the two Kerala Congress (M) factions,” he said.

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