The AIADMK will donate Rs 1 crore to the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund (CMPRF) towards the fight against COVID-19. In an announcement made on May 17, Monday, the party’s coordinator O Panneerselvam and joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami said that the party’s elected members in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and Parliament will also donate one month’s salary to the fund.
“In order to provide medical facilities and necessary relief measures to the people of Tamil Nadu who have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Rs 1 crore will be donated to the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund by the AIADMK,” the release said. It added that even last year when the state government was fighting the pandemic, the party had made a donation of Rs 1 crore to the CM’s fund.
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has 66 AIADMK MLAs and there are six AIADMK members in the Parliament at present. Of the six AIADMK members of parliament, five are in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha.
Tamil Nadu, as of Sunday, has 2,19,342 persons undergoing treatment for COVID-19. On Sunday, the state confirmed 33,181 persons having COVID-19 and reported 311 deaths. The state also tested 1,66,812 samples on Sunday. The districts that had reported over 1,000 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday, Chennai, Coimbatore, Chengalpattu, Thiruvallur, Trichy, Erode, Kancheepuram, Madurai and Kanyakumari.
Amidst reports of several people raising SOS for Remdesivir, the state government also announced on Sunday that arrangements will be made to distribute the antiviral drug to the private hospitals directly so that the family members of patients are not made to roam around looking for the drug. The Chief Minister also announced that police action will be taken against those found hoarding Remdesivir and oxygen cylinders and selling it at exorbitant prices illegally.