COVID-19: Priyanka calls for large scale testing, says govt must act

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday said it is imperative for India to immediately ramp up its rate of testing for coronavirus and that the government must act now for the lockdown to yield results.

The Congress general secretary asserted that extremely valuable information about the severity of the disease, disease clusters and focal points is gained from testing.

"It is imperative that India immediately ramps up its rate of testing. Extremely valuable information about the severity of the disease, disease clusters and focal points is gained from testing," she said in a tweet.

"In order for this lockdown to yield results, it has to be backed up by large scale testing and other measures to support the medical infrastructure systems in this country. The government must act now," she said.

Priyanka Gandhi also raised the issue of nurses and medical staff allegedly not getting protective equipment and cutting of their salaries.

At this time, the medical staff needs all the cooperation, she said.

"They are life givers and have taken to the field like warriors. In Banda, a great injustice is being done by not giving nurses and medical staff personal protective equipment and cutting their salaries," Priyanka Gandhi said.

She appealed to the Uttar Pradesh government to look into the issue, saying this is not the time to do injustice to these "warriors" but to listen to them.