Don’t be misled by AAP’s false propaganda, their oxymeters won’t tell you if you have covid,’ Punjab CM appeals to people

Chandigarh: Urging them not to be misled by the false propaganda being spread by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) or indulge in false bravado, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday appealed to the people of Punjab to get themselves tested for Covid at the earliest as delay could prove fatal for them.’In an address to the state, the Chief Minister said the Oxymeters that AAP was offering to give the people of Punjab were no substitute for testing. “These Oxymeters will not tell you if you have Covid or not, they just measure the Oxygen saturation level in the body and low Oxygen is not necessarily an indication of coronavirus,” he warned the people, exhorting them not to be misguided by the vicious propaganda of AAP.

          Captain Amarinder also categorically rejected allegations of organ harvesting of Covid victims, as claimed on some videos that are viral on social media, saying “these rumours are totally baseless.” “Don’t fall prey to such false propaganda, which is being spread only to mislead you,” he appealed to the people, adding that the only reason bodies of Covid victims are touched and cremated by people wearing PPE suits etc is to avoid infection. “Our former President (Pranab Mukherjee) was also cremated in a similar manner because he was suffering from Corona,” he pointed out.

          “Some `pakhandis’ (hypocrites/fakes) are trying to mislead you on social media with false information,” he said, urging the people not to ignore symptoms or self-medicate and delay testing as that all deaths are taking place in Level 2 & 3 patients (advanced stage). The Chief Minister appealed to the people to follow the instructions of the Government and the advice of the doctors to save themselves and Punjab.

          Pointing out that while his government had already distributed 10000 Oxymeters and was in the process of procuring another 50000, he reiterated that use of these machines would not save lives. Going to the hospital only in case of low Oxygen levels might be too late, warned the Chief Minister.

          Stressing that this was not the time to indulge in politics but was the time to fight Covid together, the Chief Minister said unfortunately, AAP is busy politicising the crisis even after assuring the state government of their support. “Aren’t they ashamed,” he asked, adding that all parties should support his government and consider the disease a common enemy. “Won’t they support us if there is war with Pakistan or China?” he asked.

          The Chief Minister also trashed as false propaganda AAP claims that Punjab was doing badly on the Covid front as compared with Delhi. The facts and figures totally expose these false claims, he said, pointing out that with 1.90 crore population, Delhi has 1.82 lakh cases while Punjab, with 2.80 crore population, has 60000 cases. The deaths in Delhi are three-fold as compared with Punjab, he further said.

          Captain Amarinder, however, clarified that he was not citing these numbers because he wanted Delhi to have more cases. “I pray to Wahe Guru that all states, including Delhi, should win the war against Covid and succeed in saving lives,” he said.

          Noting that the whole world was going through difficult times, with US witnessing a second spike and lakhs suffering in India due to Covid, Captain Amarinder said while he was no doctor, projections given by experts were grim. Recalling how one channel in the US had mocked him for making predictions of deaths, he said his intent in being open about the projections o experts was be open with the people of Punjab. “We have to fight together, it is our collective responsibility,” he added.

          The Chief Minister pointed out that the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak had lasted for three years, claiming one crore lives in India alone. While times have changed and there is hope of early vaccine for Covid, the situation remains uncertain, he added.

          Captain Amarinder, however, assured the people that Punjab has no shortage of beds, medicines, ventilators or doctors to tackle the spike, which has been projected for September-October.