Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s order to double Covid tests in the state has sparked a war of words between the AAP and the Central governments. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Guardian, Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendar Jain alleged that the bureaucrats were not following the CM’s order.
Q: How do you see the corona situation improving in Delhi?
A: We have seen that wherever cases have increased, corona was controlled by increasing the number of tests. With this, you are able to find every person who has got corona and is inadvertently spreading the infection. Once you find the affected individuals, you either isolate them at their home or shift them to the hospital. This controls the spread of coronavirus.
Q: You have blamed the Centre for meddling in your plan of increasing testing, meanwhile the MHA has called your allegations baseless. How do you respond?
A: When the Chief Minister has ordered that the number of tests should be increased, why are the officials not following it? When the CM gave the order for testing to be doubled then why to take permission from the Home Ministry to follow this order? This clearly shows that the authorities are in no mood to increase testing. That’s why they are going to the Home Ministry despite orders from the CM.
Q: How will testing be ramped up amid this collision?
A: We hope that after all this and after the Home Ministry’s tweet on Thursday, the officers will work to increase testing because that’s the only way by which the spread of corona can be controlled.