Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management R. B. Udayakumar said that there was nothing for the State government to hide with regard to the COVID-19 related deaths, as stated by M.K. Stalin, Opposition leader.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, he said the government has been working as per the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO) with regard to the COVID-19 (deaths). Based on the advice of experts, standard operating procedures have been laid out.
Out of 1.86 lakh people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the State, close to 1.36 lakh people were sent home without administering any drugs. There were a few cases of deaths, which had to be declared only after examining the exact cause as per the WHO guidelines, he said. The State government had taken a series of measures only in consultation with experts and this causing of panic among the people by Mr. Stalin was unfortunate, he said. The DMK president had alleged that the government had hidden the deaths due to COVID-19, and only after they were exposed, the officials included 444 deaths due to COVID-19 in the State.
The Minister said the State government issued a medical bulletin every day, which was not the case in many other States in the country. The government believed in transparent functioning. Hence, there was nothing to hide from the public domain. Instead of indulging in such acts, the Opposition leader can come out with suggestions to the people, he said.
Unable to stomach the popularity of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and the government, the DMK leader was trying to mislead the people by giving false statements, Mr. Udayakumar said and added that 21 lakh people have been screened in Tamil Nadu for COVID-19, which was appreciated by experts.
In Madurai, the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 stood at 8,984 so far and 5,965 had been discharged from the hospitals so far. The focus was now on rural pockets. So far, 2,235 fever camps have been conducted in rural Madurai and 1.56 lakh people have been screened.
The Minister and Madurai Collector T. G. Vinay gave away crop loans worth ₹23 lakh and SHG loans to the tune of ₹46 lakh.
The fever camp at Kachakatti, near Vadipatti in the district drew people from surrounding pockets as well.