The state government had no count of persons who returned from China and treated the coronavirus threat casually, said CPI (M) legislator Rakesh Singha on Saturday.
Singha had also raised the issue in the Budget Session on February 27.
“Even as the threat was looming large, samples of those returned from China were not collected and they were only placed under home quarantine,” he said. The state government in its reply in the House had said that no request was made to the Centre to provide funds to tackle any exigency arising out of the spread of coronavirus in the state.
Meanwhile, Singha said that if the government was serious about the crisis, it would not have made such a casual reply in the session.
“I had sent a letter seeking the government’s reply in the matter. It is easy to blame others. The state government didn’t understand the gravity of such a pandemic,” said Singha.
The central government too made a statement on March 13 that virus was not a health hazard, Singha said.
“Now, instead of strengthening the infrastructure, pace up tests and contact tracing, the government is resorting to unusual gimmicks to divert the attention of the public,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“Now, instead of strengthening the infrastructure, pace up tests and contact tracing, the government is resorting to unusual gimmicks to divert the attention of the public,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}