JOIN USNobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee to be in Bengal panel on COVID-19: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced that the Nobel Laureate economist Abhijit Banerjee will be one of the members of the advisory panel set up by the state government to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Chief Minister also said that she will speak to the economist over the phone later in the day.
“We have set up a global advisory board for COVID-19 response policy in West Bengal we are setting up. It is a policy decision body which will help the Chief Minister. Abhijit Banerjee will be one of the committee members,” said Banerjee. She also said that the committee will also have Swarup Sarkar, former regional director of WHO as one of its members.
Addressing media persons at the state secretariat she said that the IT Cells of some political parties are spreading fake news regarding the COVID-19 outbreak to malign her government.
“It is not time to do politics. I have seen that IT Cells of some political parties are spreading fake news to malign the state government,” said Banerjee.
Her comment comes hours after BJP’s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya in a series of tweets accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government of suppressing facts regarding COVID-19 cases in West Bengal.
He further alleged that “ hospital administrations across Bengal are under pressure from Mamata Banerjee” to downplay COVID-19 related cases and “thwarting doctors from writing corona as a reason for deaths” even as the concerned patients rested positive.
Banerjee said that the total number of COVID 19 cases as of 12 pm today 61.
“Out of the 61 cases 55 cases are from 7 families. One family in Kalimpong has 11 cases in one family including one death. Five family members of a doctor of Army’s Command Hospital (who tested positive) has been infected,” said Banerjee.
She also said that while Egra in East Medinipur district recorded 12 COVID-19 cases, Tehatta in Nadia district has five cases, Howrah district has eight cases, Kolkata has 12 cases and Haldia in Easy Medinipur has two cases.
The Chief Minister said that the death toll in the state is three and 13 have been discharged after being cured.