On India coronavirus situation, Rahul Gandhi says ‘lockdown isn’t solution, we need to ramp up testing’ 

Rahul Gandhi.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi while holding a virtual news conference on the current coronavirus situation in India, said the current lockdown imposed on the country isn’t a solution, neither a treatment for COVID-19 infections.

On Thursday, while speaking to reporters via Zoom videoconferencing, Gandhi, who represents Kerala’s Wayanad constituency in the Lok Sabha, said the current lockdown imposed in the country won’t help much in the fight against the virus.

He said the current lockdown imposed on the country is not a solution, neither a treatment; hence, the country must find a strategy to come out from the lockdown phase. The prime minister’s role should be to empower the states.

Emphasizing on the need of more testing, he added, “The biggest weapon to fight it is testing. Lockdown is like a pause button; it is not a solution. Once we come out, the virus will spread again. … India’s testing rate very low at 199 per million so far. We need to ramp up testing.”

He further said, “There should be a strategic opening of the lockdown. The government should push coronavirus testing aggressively and assist states to fight it.”

Gandhi also praised the Kerala government in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and said, “The fight should be bottom up and not top down. PM's role should be to empower the states.”

Full video of Rahul Gandhi’s news conference on India’s coronavirus situation:

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