The West Bengal government on Saturday urged people not to panic over the spread of COVID-19 and said that the situation in the State was under control. Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said that there were no plans to introduce a complete lockdown in the State, adding that complete restrictions would be imposed only in containment zones.
“We are always saying people should not panic but probably due to lack of information or misinformation people are starting to panic,” Mr. Sinha told journalists at the State secretariat.
The Chief Secretary said the COVID-19 death rate in the State had come down to 2.7%, which is very close to the national average of 2.5%. Noting that the State has a population of over 10 crore, Mr. Sinha said that out of the 14,709 active cases, over 70% were asymptomatic.
“Due to the improvement in health infrastructure, only 4.5% cases are serious. This is the figure that needs to be highlighted,” he added. The Chief Secretary said that cases in the State are likely to increase but the State government was prepared to tackle the situation.
The State government also announced a helpline through which people in home isolation can seek opinions and suggestions. Later in the day, the State’s Home Department put out a message on social media that said, “Out of 14,709 active COVID-19 cases in WB, only 662 patients are in the serious category, 1,250 are moderate. That means only 1,912 patients need to be in hospital in the entire State. The rest 12,796 are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic (87%) and so there is no need to panic.” The Home Department added that the State’s testing rate was above the World Health Organization’s threshold.
