Bhagwat Karad said that the district testing capacity was not fully utilized.
Aurangabad:
BJP MP Rajya Sabha, Dr. Bhagwat Karad, said on Friday that the government of Maharashtra is trying to hide the true extent of the spread of COVID-19 in Aurangabad by reducing the number of tests carried out in the district.
Speaking about the viral epidemic in Aurangabad, the MP for Rajya Sabha said that the district’s testing capacity was not fully used.
“Earlier, when a person tested positive, at least 80 to 90 suspects were examined. This strategy helped control the coronavirus cases in Aurangabad,” he said.
However, now that the district has adequate testing facilities, they are not being used to capacity, he said.
The state government was trying to hide the true number of COVID-19 cases by cutting coronavirus testing in Aurangabad, said Karad.
In addition, the head of the BJP alleged that the district quarantine facilities were also underutilized. “If the administration claims that 7,000 to 9,000 people can be quarantined in district facilities, then why are the close contacts of positive patients quarantined at home?” he said.
If the asymptomatic suspects are subjected to aggressive tests and quarantined in the facilities, the situation can be brought under control, he said.
Meanwhile, former minister and BJP deputy of Aurangabad Atul Save said that city hospitals should be acquired to treat COVID-19 patients.
Save further claimed that the salaries offered to doctors in Aurangabad during the current health crisis were much lower than those paid to their counterparts in Mumbai.
Salaries for health care professionals should be equal across the state, and only then will new doctors be ready to work during the pandemic, he said.
As of Friday morning, Aurangabad recorded 2,524 cases of COVID-19, of which 1,363 patients recovered and 128 died from the infection, said a district official.
