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.
“Thackeray Sarkar ki Herapheri”. BMC Daily statement on Corona says upto 28 May total recovered/discharged 9817 Discharge on 29 May 715. But total discharged till 29 May BMC statment says 16008. How in 1 single day 6100 Corona Positive Patients can Recovered!!??@BJP4Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/lqZAXRVSgK
— Kirit Somaiya (@KiritSomaiya) May 30, 2020
The 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.
Some more trends from 3rd May 2020 to 29 May 2020 which show sudden surprise rise in recovered patients in single day & will raise eyebrows for any aware citizen ?
— Pratik Karpe (@CAPratikKarpe) May 30, 2020
Why a transparent & detailled announcement not done for such a good recovery number of cases than mere tweets ? pic.twitter.com/sxy91WALRQ
The 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.
Data published by @Maha_MEDD at morning 10 AM shows in Mumbai Muncipal Corporation recovery cases from 28 May till 29May morning 9AM from 8408 to 8650,
— Pratik Karpe (@CAPratikKarpe) May 30, 2020
So in less than 12 hours more than 7K cases recovered till evening 6 PM as per @mybmc report figures ?
Isn’t it confusing ? pic.twitter.com/L4vFZVVsNL
Other 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”.