Unhealthy lifestyle, return of NRIs behind high Covid fatality, Punjab health minister says

In an interview to ThePrint, Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu lists factors leading to the surge in Covid cases and the state's high fatality rate.

Chandigarh: Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu believes the lifestyle of the Punjabi community, laxity among the people and the arrival of NRIs caused the surge in the state’s Covid-19 fatality rate.

In an exclusive interview to ThePrint, Sidhu defended the Punjab government’s response to the worsening Covid situation in the state. He blamed weak immunity among people due to “unhealthy lifestyle” of the local community, and also said patients are coming in late for treatment.

Sidhu also said the NRI population that arrived in Chandigarh and Amritsar was also a factor, claiming that the returning footfalls are higher in Punjab as compared to other states.

“Among our first two-three deaths right in the beginning in March were also of people who returned from abroad which in turn led to a Covid-19 outbreak in their families and known circle,” he said.

The minister also said migrants who have returned to the state added to the numbers. “Earlier, we sent them in trains and served them langar, but now people have returned and carried infection with them too.”

Sidhu said the public health issue has also been politicised. “We need to work for the people,” he said.

He sought to defend against the Opposition’s charges that ministers were relying on private hospitals as government hospitals are poorly managed. The minister also said the government is taking measures as fears of an oxygen supply shortage have arisen.

Sidhu’s comments came as Punjab continues to register the worst fatality rate in the country at 2.95 per cent. As of Monday, the state has reported 79,679 Covid cases and 2,356 deaths. Over half of these have come in the last three weeks as the situation is deteriorating. Just in the last 24 hours, the state has reported over 2,500 cases and 68 deaths.

On people’s ‘unhealthy lifestyle’

Asked about the rising Covid death rate in Punjab, Sidhu highlighted the issue of poor immunity among Punjabis “due to unhealthy lifestyle”, adding that the community is relatively laid back.

He said Punjabis usually eat oily and heavy food, which coupled with inadequate physical activities cause lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, obesity and high blood pressure — the conditions considered comorbidities in a Covid patient.

Citing an example, Sidhu said, “Farmers who earlier worked a lot manually now have machines that have replaced their work.”

“People are diabetic, some are kidney and cancer patients so deaths due to comorbidity is higher here,” he said.

He also said people are coming to hospitals only after their health deteriorates even though sampling, testing and treatment was being provided free of cost. “Some people take it very lightly thinking it’s flu, throat infection or regular fever and that they can treat themselves at home undermining that it’s a serious disease which has no vaccine,” he said.

He added that it’s crucial to take timely medical advice instead of developing breathing problems one fine day and landing up in hospital when the situation is already critical.

Last week, the minister launched an awareness campaign to remove the stigma associated with the disease so that people don’t fear getting timely treatment.

According to the minister, marriages and other social gatherings also reflect the people’s callousness. “Even though weddings are limited to 25 people, Punjab saw weddings with 200 people once the country began unlocking,” he said, adding that people thought the government was overreacting and that there was no Covid situation in Punjab any longer.

On measures to tackle outbreak

Talking about the health crisis management, Sidhu said “tracing, test and treatment” formula continues to be the focus to contain the spread of the virus. “Earlier, our samples had to be sent to Pune but now we have expanded our labs so that samples can be processed quickly,” he said.

Sidhu also said the state health department has been trying to document the medical history of each person in Punjab.

“This way we’ll know who has a history of liver infection or kidney or other ailments and how they shouldn’t be exposed,” said Sidhu, adding that the government is trying to research more on this method based on various models outside the country.

Asked about the shortage of medical grade oxygen, he said all measures are being taken to ensure there is sufficient supply, adding that he reviews the situation daily.

However, the health minister said cases are bound to increase with unlocking, and an infinite curfew isn’t the solution since it impacts the daily livelihood of people. “We also saw how there’s a rise in depression among people due to financial constraints and joblessness in Punjab so we felt people needed to get out,” he added.

On politics over the health issue

The health minister decried the politics over the coronavirus outbreak in Punjab. He raised the issue of a disinformation campaign and rumour-mongering going in the state, particularly that government hospitals are harvesting organs.

“People are under the impression that we are forcibly wanting to get them admitted or that their organs will be taken away if they are taken to hospital for Covid-19 treatment,” he said. He held the Aam Aadmi Party and other “outsiders” responsible, saying they consider all this a matter of “mere mischief”.

Sidhu said Covid is not a political game, but people’s lives are at stake.

“Opposition parties didn’t play the role they should have in Punjab in combating the infection,” he said, adding that Congress president Sonia Gandhi set an example by reiterating that people’s lives come above everything. “She said this even in BJP-ruled states.”

The Punjab minister also ridiculed the AAP for seeing a scam in the procurement of Covid kits even “before they were procured” by the state government.

“They started making these claims even before our tender was floated so it’s baseless,” he said, calling it propaganda by an AAP MLA.

The minister also blamed the Centre for bringing in the farmer ordinance. “The Centre didn’t think that farmers would protest and now with mass gatherings, there was bound to a spurt in cases so we have to monitor that too,” he said.

On ministers going to private hospitals

Dismissing concerns about poor infrastructure at government hospitals, Sidhu defended his colleagues and other political leaders who were admitted in private hospitals instead of government hospitals.

Sidhu said one leader needed to be administered plasma therapy, which wasn’t available at the government hospital he went to first. “Some were in home isolation while there were others who had several comorbidities…” he said.

Some had the money and could afford treatment in private hospitals and so chose that, he added.

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