Left parties call for stepping up testing for coronavirus

The Left parties on Friday said that India's testing rate for coronavirus is among the lowest in the world and called for large-scale testing for the global pandemic to contain its spread.

A joint statement issued by leaders of five Left parties - The Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)-Liberation, Revolutionary Socialist Party and the All India Forward Bloc - said the country has entered the second week of the 21-day lockdown to contain the community spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

"Many problems have surfaced in a sharp manner which need to be resolved urgently. Many of these were anticipated but unfortunately no remedial action was taken before the announcement of the lockdown," the parties said.

They said crores of people have lost their sources of livelihood. "The exodus of migrant workers from urban centres has shown the degree of unsettling of people's livelihood that this sudden lockdown announcement caused," the statement said.

It said there is an urgent need to stop growth of hunger and malnutrition and COVID-19 pandemic "feeds on such conditions of the people".

They said the central government must provide 35 kg rations per family to all migrant workers and poor with or without ration cards.

"Proper healthcare facilities for the migrant workers and others who have travelled from various parts must be put in place," the statement said and demanded strict action against police officials who gave orders for "brutalities" on such workers.

The parties said that ICMR has now approved a rapid testing kit and this must be deployed on a large scale across the country.

"Large scale testing for COVID-19 should be undertaken during this period of lockdown to identify clusters where this pandemic is spreading, isolate those areas and treat the people properly. The ICMR has now approved a rapid testing kit. This must be deployed on a large scale across the country. Currently, India's testing rate is one of the lowest in the world. It is 241 times lower than South Korea," they said.

Noting that it is harvest season and farmers need to be supported to ensure that the food crop is not wasted, the parties said that much of this work will have to be undertaken in the states.

"The state governments are already facing severe financial crunch and would not be in a position to undertake these tasks. They must be liberally assisted financially by the Centre. Limit on states' borrowing must be increased. On this depends the life and livelihood of crores of Indian people," the four parties said.

They said there were reports of growing shortages of essential commodities and medicines.

"There is a growing genuine complaint from the health workers who are courageously discharging their duties, of the lack of personal protective equipment and medicines. They must be provided immediately. Equipments like ventilators must be acquired urgently or priority," the statement said.

It said people suffering from other life-threatening conditions cannot be neglected for treatment by the health facilities.

"Some reports have estimated that at least 43 such patients have died so far.These must be augmented by the central government urgently," the parties said.

They said there is growing concern over the "rabid communal campaigns being conduced after the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, which was an act of gross irresponsibility by the organisers".

"But to convert that into a campaign for communal polarisation only divides the united effort required by all Indians to battle this pandemic and defeat it. Effective steps must be taken to dispel stigma, generating empathy not criminalising patients," the parties said.

"Repeated calls for people's solidarity actions by the PM cannot substitute the need to address the above issues on a war footing," they added.