AAP Govt Says ‘Pressure’ to Not Increase COVID Tests, MHA Responds

“Any allegation that MHA is putting pressure not to increase testing is without any basis,” the ministry said.

Medics arrive to take samples of suspected COVID-19 patients for lab tests at a government hospital in New Delhi.  Image used for representational purpose.

(Photo: PTI/Kamal Kishore)

The Union Home Ministry on Thursday, 27 August, dismissed as "false and baseless" the allegation that it is putting pressure on Delhi government officers not to increase COVID-19 testing in the national capital, as it responded to Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain’s letter to Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla.

"In this context, it may be recalled that it was after the intervention of the Union Home Minister that the daily tests in Delhi, which were averaging around 4,000 per day till mid June, 2020, have gone up to around 18-20,000 per day in a calibrated manner. The marked improvement in the COVID-19 situation in Delhi has been possible due to this enhanced testing and other containment measures," the official Twitter handle of Home Ministry spokesperson posted on Thursday.

"As such, any allegation that MHA is putting pressure on Delhi Govt not to increase testing in Delhi is absolutely without any basis," the MHA spokesperson added.

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Replying to these tweets, Satyendar Jain said, “I hope that the officers will comply with this msg from MHA. I am sure that the officers, who were reluctant to increase testing today citing pressure from MHA, will immediately increase testing in Delhi.”

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Satyendar Jain's Letter to Home Secy

Earlier on Thursday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had written a letter to Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla regarding the COVID-19 tests in the national capital. "The Home Ministry is putting pressure not to increase testing after the Delhi government's decision to conduct 40,000 tests. Why is the Home Ministry stopping the Delhi government from increasing testing?" the Aam Aadmi Party said in a tweet.

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"... When some officers told pressure is being applied by the Home Ministry on Delhi officers that testing is not to be increased further in Delhi, I was shocked," Jain said in his letter to the Home Secretary.

"So far, the Delhi model has been considered successful in terms of fighting the virus, so then why are our officials being threatened and intimidated to not conduct 40,000 tests per day," Jain was further quoted as saying.

The Rise in Cases

Delhi, which saw a sharp fall in the number of COVID-19 cases in July and the first half of August, has again started witnessing a rise in infections.

On Thursday, the national capital reported 1,840 new COVID-19 cases and 22 fatalities, taking the tally to 1,67,604 and the death toll to 4,369.

(With inputs from PTI and The Print.)