Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said that 50 people have died due to black fungus or mucormycosis in the state so far, while 650 more are undergoing treatment for the infection in various hospitals.

“There have been over 750 cases of black fungus in Haryana so far. Fifty-eight have been cured while 50 people have lost their lives and 650 patients are undergoing treatment," the Chief Minister said while addressing a digital press conference here. He said that the government is procuring the Amphotericin B injection used in treatment of black fungus while some stock is already available and being used in government hospitals.

 "We have got 6,000 injection vials. Over the next two days, we will get 2,000 vials more while we have placed an order for another 5,000 vials,” he added.

Notably, the state has also floated a global tender to procure 15000 doses of Amphotericin B.

The government had recently decided to increase the number of beds in all government medical colleges of the state from 20 to 75 to treat patients infected with black fungus. The State Government had declared black fungus a notified disease, making it mandatory for doctors to report any case of the disease to the chief medical officer of the district concerned. Replying to another question, the Chief Minister said that unlike last year's lockdown, when the state's revenue collections took a major hit, the impact on excise and GST collections due to the current lockdown has been marginal.

When asked about the demand of convening an all-party meeting on COVID-19 crisis by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Khattar said that a positive outlook and constructive suggestions are always welcomed but the Congress' intent is to play politics even during the times of COVID-19 pandemic.

Lashing out at Hooda, the Chief Minister said that the opposition leader has not even once urged the farmers to stop the agitation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It has now been established that it was due to the agitating farmers' movements to and from dharna sites that led to spread of infection in the villages and large number of fatalities, which was not recorded during the first COVID-19 wave.

“The death rate has gone up by six to 10 times in these villages than what it was the previous year. If someone says it is not due to Covid, then there is no other pandemic at this stage,” he said, holding the farmers' agitation as one of the factors behind the infection spread.

“Thousands gather at one place, mingle together and Covid-appropriate protocols are not followed,” Khattar said.

On Hooda saying the State Government did not prepare for the second Covid wave, Khattar said the opposition is not understanding the seriousness of the issue. Referring to Hooda's open letter to the people of Haryana, the Chief Minister asked why he could not make a similar appeal to farmers.

He also pointed out that the opposition never appealed to the agitating farmers to undergo COVID-19 testing and get vaccination. The Congress is only interested in playing politics on the issue of COVID-19, he added.