Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that lockdown was no solution to deal the coronavirus pandemic, calling it a "pause button" and opining that the virus will hit the country again once the lockdown ends.  

"Now we've reached a level, where we are in an emergency situation. India must unite and fight against it. My main suggestion is that blunt instruments must not be used. We must work strategically. Lockdown has not resolved the problem, it has only postponed the problem," he added.  

Asking the Centre to scale up the testing for the deadly virus "aggressively and strategically", Rahul said that the resources needed to be utilised carefully and given to the states. 

"To fight against Covid-19, our main force is working at the state and district levels. Success has been achieved in Wayanad, Kerala because of the effective machinery at the district level," the former Congress president said. 

"This has to be done via testing. You need two zones - hotspot and non-hotspot. When you lock people up, the disease gets locked up. When you open the door, the disease comes out," he added. 

"Biggest weapon against COVID19 is testing - testing at scale so you know where the virus is moving and you can isolate, target and fight it. Our testing rate is 199 out of a million, all tests that we've done in last 72 days, works out to approximate average of 350 tests per district," the Congress leader said. 

Rahul further said that "strategic lifting" of the lockdown was needed to revive the economy which has been badly affected because of the pandemic. He said that "food shortage is on the anvil" and suggested that the Centre open up its food stocks for the poor.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that lockdown was no solution to deal the coronavirus pandemic, calling it a "pause button" and opining that the virus will hit the country again once the lockdown ends.  

"Now we've reached a level, where we are in an emergency situation. India must unite and fight against it. My main suggestion is that blunt instruments must not be used. We must work strategically. Lockdown has not resolved the problem, it has only postponed the problem," he added.  

Asking the Centre to scale up the testing for the deadly virus "aggressively and strategically", Rahul said that the resources needed to be utilised carefully and given to the states. 

"To fight against Covid-19, our main force is working at the state and district levels. Success has been achieved in Wayanad, Kerala because of the effective machinery at the district level," the former Congress president said. 

"This has to be done via testing. You need two zones - hotspot and non-hotspot. When you lock people up, the disease gets locked up. When you open the door, the disease comes out," he added. 

"Biggest weapon against COVID19 is testing - testing at scale so you know where the virus is moving and you can isolate, target and fight it. Our testing rate is 199 out of a million, all tests that we've done in last 72 days, works out to approximate average of 350 tests per district," the Congress leader said. 

Rahul further said that "strategic lifting" of the lockdown was needed to revive the economy which has been badly affected because of the pandemic. He said that "food shortage is on the anvil" and suggested that the Centre open up its food stocks for the poor.