Enough Is Not Enough

The optimism of the Palaniswami government cannot hide its mismanagement of the pandemic

- Lakshmi Subramanian

On May 31, the last day of lockdown 4.0, as the Tamil Nadu government issued orders for phased unlocking, 1,149 fresh cases and 13 deaths were reported in 24 hours. The daily count had touched a four-digit number for the first time. The 804 fresh cases from Chennai continued to worry medical professionals. But with the increased testing, high recovery rate and low mortality, the government indicated that all was well in Tamil Nadu.

“There is nothing to panic,”said J. Radhakrishnan, special nodal officer for Chennai corporation, appointed to coordinate Covid-19 efforts. “The situation is completely under control.” He emphasised that the spike in cases was because of increase in testing. But the situation is contrary to what Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami predicted, on April 17, when he said that “the number will come down to zero” within three days, and called it a “disease of the rich”. Tamil Nadu now has over 23,000 cases, of which over 10,000 are active. The government might deny it but epidemiologists say there is “widespread community spread” in parts of Chennai.