Centre, states doing everything possible to tackle COVID crisis: Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the Centre and the state governments are doing everything possible to tackle the COVID-19 crisis while asserting that only those who perform commit mistakes.

The Lok Sabha MP from Lucknow visited a 255-bed COVID hospital built by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at the Haj House here.

Speaking to reporters, Singh said, ''The speed displayed by the Uttar Pradesh government in tackling the COVID cases should be praised. Mistakes can be committed by anyone. Only a person who performs will commit mistakes. But this is not the time for criticism, if anyone spots any loophole and offers suggestions, the state government will welcome it.'' ''Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted this pandemic as a challenge and the government is doing everything possible to tackle this challenge,'' he said, adding that many countries are helping India at this hour of crisis because of the good diplomatic relations forged by the prime minister.

Singh also conveyed his condolences to the families of the COVID-19 victims.

''You may or may not have seen today's news. The World Health Organization (WHO) has praised the work of the Uttar Pradesh government. It is not a small thing,'' he said.

In a tweet on Monday, the WHO said, ''In #India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh, the state gov. has initiated house-to-house active case finding of #COVID19 in rural areas to contain transmission by testing people with symptoms for rapid isolation, disease management & contact tracing.'' Singh said, ''All the state governments and the Centre are doing everything possible to tackle this challenge. I want to reiterate that only a person who performs will commit mistakes and he should not be criticized, but should be given suggestions.'' He said the 255-bed COVID hospital will have 25 ventilators and approximately 100 HFNCs (High Flow Nasal Cannula).

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath thanked the prime minister and the defense minister and said a 500-bed COVID hospital built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was made functional at Lucknow's Avadh Shilpgram and a 750-bed COVID hospital became functional in Varanasi on Monday.

''People must follow the guidelines of the Centre and the state government. This will help break the chain of transmission of the virus,'' he said.

On May 5, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee COVID Hospital set up by the DRDO in Lucknow was made functional.