Govt lying on swine flu toll, claims Oppn

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 20

The Opposition parties today alleged that the Health Department was concealing the data regarding swine flu deaths in the state.

The issue was raised in the Assembly during a call attention motion by Akali MLA Sukhwinder Kumar and AAP MLA Nazar Singh Manshahia.

Responding to the charge, Health Minister Brahm Mohindra said there were some deaths due to the viral disease in the state, but many were due to co-morbid health conditions. Reacting to this, Lok Insaaf Party leader Simarjit Singh Bains said the maximum deaths took place in Ludhiana. He claimed that more than 500 people succumbed to the disease in the state, but the government was quoting a far lesser number.

Kumar said the state did not have infrastructure to deal with the viral flu. He said the main reason behind swine flu deaths was respiratory distress and most hospitals in Punjab did not have ventilators.