The Odisha government onThursday said that it is not mandatory to share all information regarding COVID-19 patients with the media and asked reporters not to seek a ball-by-ball account of all the positive cases.The governments COVID-19 spokesperson Subroto Bagchi said this while addressing the daily media briefing here.COVID-19 is not a cricket match that one will seek a ball-by-ball account. It is a very serious matter dealing with the lives of human beings, Bagchi said.Noting that he was asked 13 questions by a television channel on Wednesday, Bagchi said, We will reply to relevant questions made on sample testing issue tomorrow. However, not ball-by-ball account of the cases.Bagchis reaction came in the backdrop of some television channels raising questions on the exact number of COVID-19 patients in Bomikhal in the state capital.While the Health and Family Welfare Department till Tuesday claimed that there were 18 COVID-19 positive cases in Bomikhal, it suddenly reduced the number to 14 on Wednesday.The remaining four were shown to have been reported from Satya Nagar area, which was declared a containment Zone on Wednesday morning.The media had raised questions on the matter.Reiterating that COVID-19 is not an IPL match or a one-day cricket match, Bagchi said this is not the time to give the review and even slow-motion picture of the coronavirus cases.It is another matter that Odisha has so far reported 44 COVID-19 cases. If the number becomes 400, let it not happen here by Gods grace, is it possible to give details of each case, Bagchi said, justifying the government's decision of not revealing details of COVID-19 patients.We are committed to sharing useful information with media and the people, please do not review every case. The government will reveal the right information at the appropriate time, he said.During the extraordinary time, it is not possible as well as required to share all information, he said, adding that information related to public good will be shared with media.The information which is not for public good, will not be shared, he said.He said the government had earlier shared details of a COVID-19 patient with the media as it was for public good.We will not share any information regarding the cases which are not for public good, Bagchi said.
