AP Government ignoring threat of 2nd Covid wave: Chandrababu Naidu

Amaravati: Criticising that the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was not taking any preventive measures over the threat of possible second wave of the Covid19 pandemic in Andhra Pradesh, the TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu stressed the need to make more serious efforts in order to save the people, in a statement on Thursday.

Chandrababu Naidu termed it as unfortunate that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was raising awareness on physical distancing and mask-wearing, Jagan Reddy was not taking preventive measures. On the other hand, the AP Government was more interested in reopening the schools, theatres and liquor shops regardless of the threat of infections.

Making his opening remarks at the 'apfightscorona' online forum with Covid-19 warriors and those affected financially, the TDP chief said that the Government should give equal emphasis to the fight against the deadly virus along with the economy revival measures. It may be noted that AP stood number 2 in the number of infections in the country and number 1 in virus cases per lakh population.

The TDP supremo said that a more focused, cluster-based approach would be necessary to effectively prevent the disastrous impact of the 2nd wave infections. There were reports of serious health complications and greater number of deaths in the second attack. In this backdrop, the future socio-economic recovery of any State or Country or a community would depend solely on how best they would take post-Covid management steps. A weekly audit of the status of infections would give an idea to effectively counter the epidemic, he opined.

Stating that the vaccine was expected by the end of the year, Chandrababu Naidu said that even then, the economic impact would remain there for one or two years more. The Governments should rescue the helpless sections of society from this humanitarian crisis. The www.apfightscorona.com started by the TDP was the first of its kind platform to highlight the plight of people who lost their jobs and incomes due to Covid. Through the Global Forum for Sustainable Transformation (GFST), weekly Sunday bulletins were being sent to the Prime Minister's Office on best practices.

He said that over 1,005 distressed people have reported their problems on the TDP website. Most of these respondents lost their jobs and are facing financial problems. Some of them recounted their bitter experiences during Covid treatment and funeral services to their near and dear ones. Some respondents talked about the loss of crops and non-availability of essential commodities. The Etikoppaka toymakers told the TDP chief about their financial distress following loss of demand for their products.