Lockdown is not the only solution, aggressive testing is needed: Rahul Gandhi

In his first media address after PM Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, while extending support to the government in the fight against the Corona pandemic, asserted that the lockdown is not a solution to the problem but merely a “pause button” that provides us time to do the preparation.

Saying that his remarks should be taken “in the spirit of suggestion and advice, not as criticism”, Rahul said though he differs with the PM on various issues, he thinks “now is the time to unite and fight the virus”.

“I disagree with Narendra Modi on a lot of issues but now is not the time to fight. Unite and fight the virus,” said Rahul Gandhi.

Addressing the media through a video-conference, Rahul reiterated the need to do aggressive testing.

It may be recalled that Rahul Gandhi was among the first in India to set off the alarm bell on the pandemic. He had tweeted on February 12, alerting the Central government to be prepared for the impending crisis. However, the Central government did not pay any heed to his advice.

“If you want to fight the virus, you have to increase the testing dramatically and your testing has to go from chasing the virus to moving ahead of it. You have to move to random testing and pre-empt where the virus is moving,” said Rahul.

“The biggest weapon against COVID-19 is testing; testing at scale so you know where the virus is moving and you can isolate, target and fight it,” added Rahul.

Stating that our testing rate is 199 for one million of the population and all tests conducted in the last 72 days work out to approximately an average of 350 tests per districts, Rahul Gandhi emphasized that the government should effectively utilize resources to fight COVID-19.

Referring to his constituency – Waynand, Kerala – as a model in the fight against the corona pandemic, Rahul said that “instead of blunt instruments, India must work strategically”.

Suggesting to the PM to empower the state, Rahul, without saying a word, hinted at the need for the decentralization of government resources.

“Our strength to fight COVID-19 is at state and district level. Success in Wayanad has been due to district level machinery. So, I suggest that fight against COVID-19 should not be top-down but bottom-up,” said Rahul Gandhi.

As per the latest data, issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as on April 16, India reported 12,380 confirmed cases of Coronavirus. According to the ministry, so far 1489 affected with the virus have been discharged and 414 died due to the infection. With 2916 cases and 187 deaths, Maharashtra remained the worst-hit state.