Kolkata Police officers operate a drone to track down those violating lockdown norms, at Rajabazar — one of the hotspots in Kolkata — on Thursday.
West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha on Thursday informed that 58 new COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in the last 24 hours and there are 334 active cases in West Bengal at present.
“Deaths due to COVID-19 stand at 15 in the state. 58 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours. The total number of active cases now stand at 334. Total 103 people have been discharged so far. A total of 953 samples were tested in the last 24 hours,” said Sinha.
He further informed that so far 120 samples from Malda district have been tested, and all of them have tested negative.
According to the state chief secretary, a total of 15,784 people are under quarantine and 11,089 have completed their quarantine period. “There are 66 COVID-19 dedicated hospitals in the state, 12 labs for testing, and 150 containment zones,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sinha said in India, close to 70 per cent COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic. “In India, close to 70 per cent coronavirus cases are asymptomatic. Doctors are also worried as to how to identify them. If the lockdown is lifted on May 4, then this will be a big challenge. We have not decided anything yet, that what will happen after May 3,” he told mediapersons.
Sinha further said that the West Bengal government has always responded to the queries of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Union Home Ministry, and Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The chief secretary said the stand of the West Bengal government is that the state will never accept Central teams coming without prior consultations. “The Central team told us that the lockdown is effective where they went. Today, they said that they have got full cooperation and every protocol is being followed.”