Punjab CM urges Centre to allow private hospitals to conduct tests for COVID-19

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday urged the Centre to allow private hospitals and labs to conduct tests in order to ensure access to all the people.

"Given the fact that Punjab had private labs in all the major cities, it was not logical for a coronavirus suspect to have to travel to Chandigarh or some other place to get himself tested from a government facility only," the Punjab Chief Minister said, adding that only in case of doubt should such a person be required to go elsewhere for a second test.

"It was obvious that India had to be prepared for the worst. The nature of the disease was such," he pointed out adding that coronavirus had just entered India and the problem was likely to escalate.

"We have to be prepared in every way," Singh asserted.

Singh suggested that the Centre should allow the food stocks currently stored in Punjab godowns to be distributed to the poor, whose earnings were impacted due to the coronavirus outbreak instead of letting them rot in the storage areas.

"Since the stocks belonged to the Government of India, it was in their purview to take a decision in this regard," he said, adding that the 20 million tonnes of food grains that Food Corporation of India (FCI) had yet to lift from the godowns could be put to better use by feeding the people not just in Punjab but wherever needed.

Underlining the need for strong measures to check further spread of the COVID-19 disease, the Chief Minister said his government had already initiated a series of steps to fight the problem.

"The state's financial crunch would not be allowed to impact the efforts of his government," Singh said.

On the issue of congregations at gurdwaras and other religious places, the Chief Minister said that he had already requested the religious heads to limit the gatherings to fewer than 50 and to appeal to the devotees from their podiums not to gather in large numbers.

He was hopeful that the religious heads would support the move.

The total number of positive cases of COVID-19 in India stands at 167 (including 25 foreigners), four deaths (one each) in Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra, according to the data provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.