“This (COVID-19) is a rich man’s disease. Where did the poor get it? They (rich) brought this disease from foreign countries. It is they (rich) who imported this from foreign countries. Poor isn’t affected.”

This was Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday as he briefed reporters about the situation in Tamil Nadu arising out of Coronavirus spread. He was responding to a question on the government’s relief to those affected by COVID-19.

“This is a disease that came to the rich. Where did it come to the poor? It was imported from other countries and other states. You can talk to the poor. There is no issue in that. One is scared of the rich because they have gone to foreign countries and have imported the disease. One should understand that this disease didn’t emerge from Tamil Nadu,” Palaniswami said.

The CM’s comments did not go well with the people as several took to social media to criticise his “rich man’s disease” remarks. During the briefing, he also claimed the state’s efforts to prevent the spread of the disease was working well and that Tamil Nadu hopes to have “zero positive cases” in the next four to five days.

While 31 cases were reported on April 14, it went up to 38 on Wednesday but came down to 25 on Thursday. Palaniswami said the numbers were coming down due to the efforts of the state government which set up containment zones and prevented further spread of COVID-19.

“Tamil Nadu is still in the second stage. Today, the number of cases is 25 whereas yesterday it was 38. The numbers are gradually coming down and we expect zero cases in the next four to five days,” he claimed. He also said the state was expecting recovery of all patients in the next 10 to 15 days.