LOCKDOWN NOT A SOLUTION TO FIGHT COVID-19, NEED TO RAMP UP TESTING: RAHUL GANDHI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday held a press meet via video-conferencing where he said that lockdown is just a pause button, and not a solution to check the spread of Covid-19. He also said that the government’s testing level for coronavirus is not up to the mark, and is neither strategic.

“We are in a very serious situation. People of India and parties need to work together,” Mr Gandhi said in his opening remarks.

“I have been speaking to large number of experts, both in India and abroad, as well as outside the government who have a better understanding of what is going on. We need to understand that lockdown is a pause button, it’s not a solution to coronavirus,” he further said.

“When we come out of the lockdown, the virus will again begin its work. So we need to have a strategy,” said Mr Gandhi.

"There is a need to ramp up our testing facility, to prepare our hospitals. The biggest weapon in fight against Covid-19 is testing - it will tell us where the virus is moving, so you can understand where it is going, so you can isolate it.”

“Our testing is not enough to understand where the virus is moving, and it has to go from chasing the virus to getting ahead of it,” added the Congress leader.

On Wednesday, he demanded that emergency ration cards be issued to those facing a shortage of foodgrains during the lockdown enforced to contain coronavirus.