Expressing concern over the sudden surge in Covid-19 cases in the state, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal on Sunday said that the State Government is making provisions to provide masks in adequate quantity and the Health Department has been directed to make one crore masks for distribution among people.
The State on Sunday reported 25 Covid-19 fatalities pushing the death toll to 2,188 while 2,279 fresh cases surfaced in the last 24 hours.
The positive case tally stood at 2,17,300 in Haryana.
The Chief Minister during an address to the people of the state said, “Now the third phase of Covid-19 has started and everyday about 2500 to 3000 people are getting infected in the State.”
On the possibility of imposing a lockdown again, the Chief Minister said it might create more problems. During the first lockdown, markets, factories and businesses were closed thus we should ensure that there is no need to take such a step again, he said.
Making an appeal to the people to follow COVID-19 safety protocols, Manohar Lal said that the fine amount of Rs 500 or Rs 2000 for not wearing masks does not matter much as everything cannot be cured with penalty. But those who break the rules again and again must be punished, he added.
On re-opening and then, closure of schools in the state, the Chief Minister said that since every child was not able to get the benefit of online education due to lack of resources, a decision had to be taken to re-open schools. But recently, schools have been closed till November 30 when quite a few students and teachers were found COVID-19 positive. Now whenever schools will be opened again, COVID-19 tests will be conducted in their houses or localities, he said.
He said that the experience of the last nine months teaches us to be careful and to fight this battle against the virus.
The Chief Minister said that the State Government has adequate facilities and the death rate is also lower than other states.
The death rate in Haryana is 1.01 percent while it is 3.2 percent in Punjab. Similarly, our recovery rate is 90 percent and 35,000 tests are being done on a daily basis in the state, he added.
So far, about 32 lakh people have been tested which is about 12.5 percent of the total population of the state.
During the recent Sero Survey in Haryana, it was found that 14 percent of the people had not even been tested and had recovered from being COVID-19 positive. The number of such people is about 35 lakh, the Chief Minister said.
He further said that 28 labs have been set up for testing of COVID-19 in the government hospitals of the state and 46,000 beds have been made available in view of increasing cases.
In addition, five plasma banks have also been set up. Till now, 3729 persons have donated plasma and 2522 persons have been administered plasma.
CM APPEALS TO FARMERS AND EMPLOYEES
The Chief Minister on Sunday assured the farmers of the state about the three new farm acts and also appealed to the State Government employees to avoid strikes or dharnas during this hour of crisis in the interest of the state.
The employees as well as farmers have given a call of All India strike on November 26. Sarv Karamchari Sangh, an umbrella body of over two lakh employees of various departments in Haryana has announced to support the agitation call.
At the same time, the agitating farmers have announced to join a two-day protest by farmers’ bodies at New Delhi on November 26 and 27.
Appealing to the farmers, Manohar Lal said that the farmers are being misguided by some political parties about the three agricultural laws and they should be careful.
Mentioning that few Farmers’ Associations have given a call to go to Delhi on the issue of the three farm acts, he said that now that the Acts had been enacted thus there is no need to hold protests. The farmers need to understand that these three laws will not harm them in any way, on the contrary these laws will create new avenues for them and they will be able to sell their crops anywhere, he added.
Sharing views on the issue of stubble burning, the CM said that earlier farmers had to burn stubble because there was no alternative. But today stubble is being used by Cardboard Factories and it is also being used as fuel and fodder.He added that now stubble is being sold at the rate of Rs 1,500 MT.Speaking on the proposed state employees’ strike, Manohar Lal said that employees should stay away from strikes and dharnas during this time of crisis. This year, the revenue of the State Government has also decreased by Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 crores and it is not possible to accept new demands at this time, he added.
