With the total number of covid cases in Tamil Nadu inching towards 25,000, Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy assured the people that there was nothing to worry and everything was under control. Addressing the media at Fort Saint George on
Tuesday after presiding over a meeting of senior Cabinet Ministers, top bureaucrats and the medical advisors to the State administration, the Chief Minister said that Tamil Nadu has the best recovery and the smallest mortality rates in the country.
“It is true that more than 23,000 cases have been tested positive in the State till yesterday. In all likelihood the figure will go up in the coming days. But please understand that this is the result of massive testing undertaken by the State. Tamil Nadu is the State which has conducted maximum number of tests and the process is still continuing,” said the CM.
Till Monday, Tamil Nadu had held more than 4.8 lakh tests, much bigger than the tests held in other southern States like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala, pointed out Palaniswamy. He said except for Chennai and the three neighboring districts, the situation was normal in the State.
“The increase of corona virus cases in Chennai is due to the city’s population of 87 lakh and its high density. The Government is doing everything under its disposal to contain the situation in this region,” he said.
Replying to DMK President M K Stalin’s allegation that the State was facing a shortage of coronavirus test kits, the chief minister said it was not correct. “We have stocked sufficient number of PCR test kits and testing is in full swing across the State. There are sufficient ventilators as well as beds in all hospitals across the State,” said the chief Minister.
He said Tamil Nadu is the first State in the country to offer free face masks to the population. “More than 1.5 crore masks are being distributed free of cost to the needy. We are also providing quality health care to all those who have been hospitalised and quarantined,” he said.
Palaniswamy sought the cooperation of the people in containing the pandemic and requested all the people to stay inside as far as possible and observe the norms and procedures like washing hands and wearing masks. While coming out of the secretariat, he was seen affectionately chiding journalists who were not wearing masks. “You understand that your health and safety are more important and hence wear masks without fail,” he said.
Later the chief minister called on Governor Banwarilal Purohit at the Raj Bhavan and briefed him about the measures taken by the State to check the spread of covid.
