AAP's plan to use oximeters on people may spread COVID: Punjab minister

Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Tuesday alleged the AAP's plan to use oximeters to check people's oxygen levels can be a strategy to "promote" the further spread of coronavirus in the state.

Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Tuesday alleged the AAP's plan to use oximeters to check people's oxygen levels can be a strategy to "promote" the further spread of coronavirus in the state. According to a statement, Sidhu said repeated use of oximeters by multiple people without proper sanitisation may lead to the community spread of the infection. This can be be a “game-plan” of the Arvind Kejriwal's party, he said. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on September 2 had said AAP workers will check oxygen levels of people in Punjab's villages.

Slamming AAP, Sidhu further warned people that the party was “misleading” them "just as they had done in Delhi" where the coronavirus situation is “critical” with all 11 districts of the national capital among the country's 35 worst-affected areas. The use of the same oximeter by more than one person without sanitisation can lead to further spread of COVID-19, he warned. He said the opposition party was promoting oximeters as a medicine or vaccine of the contagion while the fact is that it simply helps detect oxygen levels in a person's body. “Perhaps, their strategy is to promote the further spread of the pandemic in Punjab in order to persuade people to believe it to be a failure of the state government”, he warned. Perhaps, their strategy is to "promote the further spread of the pandemic" in Punjab in order to make people believe that it is the government’s failure, he said.

The “disinformation” campaign, which seemed to be deliberately spread by the Aam Aadmi Party to further their “petty political interests” in Punjab is highly dangerous, the minister said. It can trigger a huge risk of infecting more people and perhaps even triggering a massive community spread in the rural areas, he said. AAP's strategy to spread “misinformation” in Punjab has been completely “exposed”, with at least one of their party activists arrested for allegedly making a false video on organ harvesting and testing viral on social media, said Sidhu. Kejriwal's announcement on AAP workers going around villages with oximeters was aimed at further compounding the party's “vicious” campaign, he alleged, adding that the party should focus on managing COVID-19 in Delhi. Delhi's crisis was worsening by the day but AAP is so busy indulging in “dirty politics” in Punjab, he said.

The minister said despite Delhi having lesser population in comparison to Punjab, the number of deaths and active cases there was higher, exposing the “total mismanagement” of the COVID crisis by the Kejriwal government.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)