The BJP in Maharashtra has hit out at the Maha Vikas Aghadi Government for allegedly fudging data related to the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. The allegations have to do with the recovery figures for the 29th of May which show that 6191 individuals recovered from the disease in a single day in Mumbai. The BJP claims the records are fudged because the numbers are a marked departure from the figure of the preceding days.
https://twitter.com/KiritSomaiya/status/1266575503793590273?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThe BJP claims that as per trends in recent days, the minimum recovery in a single day has been 208 and the maximum of 763 on the 28th of May. According to them, the sudden drastic jump requires a strong explanation from the government.
https://twitter.com/CAPratikKarpe/status/1266566939591073793?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThe BJP also said that as per the Medical Education and Drugs Department in Maharashtra, 8650 people had recovered by 9 am on the 29th. However, in less than 12 hours, more than 7,000 people recovered as per the figures of the BMC, the BJP has alleged.
https://twitter.com/CAPratikKarpe/status/1266566977222393856?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwOther concerning information in BMC report
As per the BMC data, 99% of 645 Intensive Care Units (ICUs) are occupied. Besides, there are 373 ventilators in the city, out of which 72% is occupied. Moreover, 65% of a total of 4292 oxygen beds are in use. To add to that, just 6 out of 24 wards reportedly had more than 2,000 Coronavirus cases as of 29th of May. The G-North ward, E-North, F-North, L, H-East, and K-West wards had 2,728, 2,438, 2,377, 2,321, 2,094, and 2,049 cases, respectively as of yesterday.
Patients forced to shared Beds
According to a Guardian report, the coronavirus patients being treated at Mumbai’s Sion hospital emergency ward are now allegedly sharing beds, with two people being allocated to a bed. With a rising shortage in beds, the patients, many with coronavirus symptoms are also sharing a single oxygen tank. The videos of the patients lying almost on top of each other, sleeping on shared stretchers, or just lying on the floor had also gone viral some days back.
Maharashtra Government’s PR Strategy
Amidst allegations of mismanagement, a marketing campaign was launched to show how CM Uddhav Thackeray was the best Chief Minister and was handling the pandemic rather effectively. While the suspicions about the PR campaign for Uddhav Thackeray were just about gaining wind, a tweet by actress and model Urvashi Rautela had given fuel to those speculations. Refuting allegations of plagiarism, she said that it was the “same tweet” which was “provided” to “her and Siddharth Malhotra” by the Mumbai Police and hence, “nobody copied anyone”.