As the total number of persons testing positive for coronavirus crossed the 255 mark in Kerala by Saturday evening, a widely respected Congress leader, PT Thomas, who is also a member of the State’s Legislative Assembly, has accused the LDF Government of goofing up the directive issued by the Centre on February 26 to check the spread of the pandemic.
“The Kerala Government’s callous attitude towards the guidelines resulted in some of the travelers from Britain, Italy and West Asian countries who reached the Cochin International Airport hoodwinking the health officials and succeeded in coming out of the airport. These passengers were all carriers of Corona virus and many persons who interacted with them ended up as corona patients” Thomas told The Pioneer on Saturday. The law maker said that this happened after the March 16 press briefing by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who had claimed that Kerala was well fortified against corona virus.
Thomas’ statement comes at a time when Kerala has 295 confirmed corona virus cases and 251 were undergoing treatment for the same in various hospitals as on Friday evening. He said the health system in Kerala which was once the envy of other States is in total disarray now because of the callousness of the powers that be (read Pinarayi Vijayan-led CPI(M) Government). “Though I had pointed out that the State flouted the guidelines issued by the Centre on February 26, I was shouted down by the hangers-on around the Chief Minister. They pose as the supporters of the Chief Minister but they are spoiling his name and reputation through their deeds,” said Thomas.
The Congress leader pointed out to Television images of Pinarayi Vijayan being placed along with Chinese President and South Korean Prime Minister with claims that he is the one and only leader from this part of the world who leads the war against Corona effectively.
He also disclosed that there were many instances of violation of the medical protocol issued by the World Health Organization and the Centre. “A public servant in Idukki who tested positive was admitted to hospital. But he was not discharged despite him testing negative for corona virus in two successive tests.
Though the district medical board had agreed to discharge him, authorities in the State capital ordered against it. He was discharged from the hospital only on Friday evening following a public uproar. It is with pain I point out that in Kerala all decisions are being taken by political authorities and not based on guidelines formulated by WHO or the health experts,” said Thomas who also sent a letter to the chief minister.
In yet another shocking incident, the Government issued the order to quarantine health department officials who were on duty at Cochin airport during March 19 to 24 only on March 29 and that too after it found that two officials tested positive. “Certain passengers who reached Cochin from abroad were allowed to go scot-free without any tests and this is the main reason for the sudden spurt in the number of corona virus patients in Kerala,” said Thomas.
He also said that the local media was working as Public Relations consultants for the chief minister . “There is a limit for sycophancy. But in the case of Vijayan, I do have doubts about the intentions of those who make these social media posts,” said Thomas, who himself is a journalist-turned-politician.