"Not Ready To See Bodies...": Haryana Health Minister On Covid Curbs

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij today put forward two options -- lockdowns and a strict adherence to the Covid-19 protocol -- to tackle the second wave of ravaging pandemic the country. Imposing curbs even in the face of public anger was acceptable, he said, adding that he was not willing to see bodies piled up.

"We are not in favour of a lockdown. People get angry when restrictions are imposed. I am okay with people's anger but not with laashon ka dher (piles of bodies)," Mr Vij told said today during the NDTV Solutions Summit. "Haryana is witnessing a spike like the rest of the country. There are 38,000 active patients in the state. We made arrangements in time."

Haryana yesterday reported over 7,700 new Covid-19 cases and 32 deaths, taking its overall figure to nearly 3.5 lakh infections and 3,400 fatalities.

"We have activated everything. 11,000 isolation beds, 2,000 ICU beds, and 1,000 ventilator beds. We have masks, PPE kits, medicines, and Remdesivir," Mr Vij told NDTV today. "We are using the experience we gained in the last phase. The virus is spreading faster in the second wave, but we have made arrangements."

He said he had advised officials to acquire as many hospitals as needed under the Epidemic Act depending upon the number of cases. The administration will also convert dharamshalas and schools into hospitals if needed, he said.

"When Covid began, we had no labs. Now, we have 1,800 government labs. We can test over 62,000 samples each day. I don't think people have to wait for more than a day for RT-PCR results in Haryana," Mr Vij said.