CPI(M) writes to PM Modi over COVID-19 spread in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

In the letter, Yechury said it was necessary that the central government took urgent measures to help the people of the region as long distances between the islands of Andaman and Nicobar come in the way of swift treatment. "As the COVID cases are growing and the deaths are mounting, it is appalling to note that there is only one centre for testing and only one COVID hospital for all the islands which is in Port Blair.

There is a health emergency in Andaman and Nicobar Islands due to COVID-19, and urgent measures are necessary to protect lives and provide relief to the people there, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. In the letter, Yechury said it was necessary that the central government took urgent measures to help the people of the region as long distances between the islands of Andaman and Nicobar come in the way of swift treatment.

"As the COVID cases are growing and the deaths are mounting, it is appalling to note that there is only one centre for testing and only one COVID hospital for all the islands which is in Port Blair. "The testing conducted here takes eight days for results be known, by which time the patient would have moved into a very critical and irretrievable respiratory condition. Eighteen doctors in this COVID hospital have contracted the virus," he said.

Lauding the government's move to provide the islands high-speed broadband connectivity, Yechury said any measure to improve the living conditions in the islands is most welcome. As of Monday, data shows that the Union territory has seen a steady rise in cases and has also recorded the highest positivity rate and the second-highest reproduction (Rt) value in the country. So far, till August 10, the UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands has recorded 1,625 COVID-19 cases with 20 deaths and 709 recoveries.

Northern Andaman, which is home to half the population of the islands, is far away from Port Blair, and it takes many days for a patient to reach the COVID hospital there, Yechury said. He added that under these conditions, it is absolutely imperative that more COVID testing centres are opened, the wait for the results reduced, more health centres capable of treating COVID-19 established in as many places in the islands as possible and adequate relief provided to the people on a war-footing.

"Since the administration on the islands comes under the direct control of your government, I am appealing to you to urgently intervene and take, at least, the above mentioned necessary measures on a war-footing," Yechury said..