Stronger Covid restrictions if needed, next 15 days crucial, says Mamata

The next 15 days are crucial in terms of the spread of Covid infections, and a stronger surge could mean stronger restrictions in West Bengal, state’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday.

Mamata said that while restrictions imposed in the state have been enforced keeping life and livelihood of the people in mind, curbs could be stronger if the situation arises.

Talking to media representatives after the cabinet meeting, Mamata said infections have risen sharply over the last one week. Between Dec 30 and Jan 5, West Bengal recorded 45,417 positive cases.

Important officers in the administration and police personnel, including commissioner of police, have been infected. The state government is encouraging work from home, she said. Discarding a media report on her having been infected, Mamata urged journalists to report with greater care and avoid sensationalism.

Also read: From VIPs to commoners, Kolkata’s Covid list includes all

Seeing the sharp rise in cases, 194 hospitals have been earmarked for Covid-19 with 32,268 beds kept ready. There are 4,180 CCU/HDU beds kept ready.

As the cases rise, the administration and police are marking localities and premises as containment and micro containment zones. The total number of such zones in the state at present is 403.

While vaccination drives are on, like in other parts of the country, the positivity rate in the state has increased to 23.17 per cent, with the daily number of cases having crossed 14,000. The number of daily tests stands over 60,000.

Mamata asked people not to fear, but to be cautious. She asked police to strongly handle people who are seen without masks, simultaneously urging citizens to wear masks. The inter-state borders will also be under vigil, and Covid test is going to be a must, she said.

To ensure the safety of the administrative workforce, work from home is being encouraged.

Mamata said that she will virtually attend the inauguration ceremony of the second campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute from her home-office at Kalighat on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the second campus via video conferencing.

On being asked if the state is going ahead with Gangasagar Mela, given the rise in infections, Mamata responded that the matter is in court.

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