KOLKATA: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday questioned the Centre’s motive in disputing the state’s Covid-19 patients’ tally and death toll and announced the formation of a “Global Advisory Board”, including Nobel Laureate Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, to help the state government formulate a policy response to the emerging situation.
“Is it fair to release separate sets of data? We do not do it. We accept the data released by the Centre,” Banerjee said. Bengal’s Covid-19 death toll remained at three, she added, though there was a spike in cases. The number of “active positive” cases rose to 61 till Monday noon; the total Covid-19 tally till date came to 77 (including the three deaths and 13 patients who had completely recovered).
The Bengal CM also expressed her apprehensions over the lengthy “gharbandi”, which she said had impacted daily wage earners and petty traders, and compared the situation with the “notebandi” of four years ago. “But we have to abide by the lockdown. So I spoke to Nobel Laureate Banerjee, who assured me of help in formulating a Covid-response policy for Bengal. He will head the panel, comprising other experts like former World Health Organisation regional representative Swarup Sarkar and eminent physicians like Abhijit Chowdhury and Sukumar Mukherjee,” the CM said.
Banerjee sought to allay people’s fears by focusing on the positives: one major takeaway, she said, was the fact that 55 of the 61 cases still in hospital belonged to only seven families.
“Just one Kalimpong cluster is responsible for 11 cases, a defence doctor’s cluster is responsible for five, a Tehatta family accounts for five patients, the Egra cluster has a dozen and Howrah and Kolkata and Haldia account for eight, 12 and two patients, respectively,” she said.
Also, an overwhelming number of patients had either “foreign travel history or came in contact with people who had travelled”, Banerjee added, explaining why things were better here than in many other parts of the country. Bengal had done 1,301 swab tests so far, she said, adding that the started with only “40 kits when it began the fight against the virus”.
“Thirteen patients admitted to Beliaghata’s ID Hospital have been discharged after full recovery and doctors 12 of the 17 patients still there are responding very well to treatment. None of them has needed the ventilator,” she said.
Banerjee appealed to people having ailments like hypertension, blood sugar, kidney problems or lung congestion to go directly to MR Bangur Hospital. “It has all life-support facilities. You don’t need to go to SSKM, NRS or Medical College and Hospital,” she said. She also urged people to disclose their recent medical history to doctors for the sake of other patients and healthcare staff. “Don’t hide anything from doctors; you will then put the other patients and doctors at risk,” she said.
The Bengal CM drew a parallel between the current situation and the state’s struggle to contain malaria for more than a decade since the early 1990s. “The current figures so far are less than the malaria and dengue figures of the past. More than 200 people died of malaria in 2005; nearly 1.6 lakh were affected. Fifty people died of dengue in 2016; 26,741 had the disease,” she said.
Banerjee asked the police to take strong action against fake posts on the disease. “The information technology cell of a political party has been spreading fake coronairus news, using the state health bulletin logo. This is not the time for politics. This is the time to serve people,” she said.
Banerjee also took exception to the “mudslinging” by a section of politicians. “The state’s most senior officer, the chief secretary, briefed the press on Saturday,” she said, adding that she failed to understand the insistence on a health bulletin even after that.
“Is it fair to release separate sets of data? We do not do it. We accept the data released by the Centre,” Banerjee said. Bengal’s Covid-19 death toll remained at three, she added, though there was a spike in cases. The number of “active positive” cases rose to 61 till Monday noon; the total Covid-19 tally till date came to 77 (including the three deaths and 13 patients who had completely recovered).
The Bengal CM also expressed her apprehensions over the lengthy “gharbandi”, which she said had impacted daily wage earners and petty traders, and compared the situation with the “notebandi” of four years ago. “But we have to abide by the lockdown. So I spoke to Nobel Laureate Banerjee, who assured me of help in formulating a Covid-response policy for Bengal. He will head the panel, comprising other experts like former World Health Organisation regional representative Swarup Sarkar and eminent physicians like Abhijit Chowdhury and Sukumar Mukherjee,” the CM said.
Banerjee sought to allay people’s fears by focusing on the positives: one major takeaway, she said, was the fact that 55 of the 61 cases still in hospital belonged to only seven families.
“Just one Kalimpong cluster is responsible for 11 cases, a defence doctor’s cluster is responsible for five, a Tehatta family accounts for five patients, the Egra cluster has a dozen and Howrah and Kolkata and Haldia account for eight, 12 and two patients, respectively,” she said.
Also, an overwhelming number of patients had either “foreign travel history or came in contact with people who had travelled”, Banerjee added, explaining why things were better here than in many other parts of the country. Bengal had done 1,301 swab tests so far, she said, adding that the started with only “40 kits when it began the fight against the virus”.
“Thirteen patients admitted to Beliaghata’s ID Hospital have been discharged after full recovery and doctors 12 of the 17 patients still there are responding very well to treatment. None of them has needed the ventilator,” she said.
Banerjee appealed to people having ailments like hypertension, blood sugar, kidney problems or lung congestion to go directly to MR Bangur Hospital. “It has all life-support facilities. You don’t need to go to SSKM, NRS or Medical College and Hospital,” she said. She also urged people to disclose their recent medical history to doctors for the sake of other patients and healthcare staff. “Don’t hide anything from doctors; you will then put the other patients and doctors at risk,” she said.
The Bengal CM drew a parallel between the current situation and the state’s struggle to contain malaria for more than a decade since the early 1990s. “The current figures so far are less than the malaria and dengue figures of the past. More than 200 people died of malaria in 2005; nearly 1.6 lakh were affected. Fifty people died of dengue in 2016; 26,741 had the disease,” she said.
Banerjee asked the police to take strong action against fake posts on the disease. “The information technology cell of a political party has been spreading fake coronairus news, using the state health bulletin logo. This is not the time for politics. This is the time to serve people,” she said.
Banerjee also took exception to the “mudslinging” by a section of politicians. “The state’s most senior officer, the chief secretary, briefed the press on Saturday,” she said, adding that she failed to understand the insistence on a health bulletin even after that.
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