West Bengal on Wednesday yet again recorded a single-day spike in the COVID-19 fatalities with 39 deaths. The number crossed the 1,200-mark and reached 1,221. Of the 39 deaths, 15 were reported in Kolkata, 11 in the North 24 Parganas, three in the South 24 Parganas, three in Hooghly, two in Howrah and one each in five other districts. The active cases are 18,450 .
The State has recorded 2,291 infections — Kolkata the highest at 694 and the North 24 Parganas 624. The number of infections has increased to 49,321. The State will observe a complete lockdown on Thursday. Civic bodies like Barrackpore, Baranagar and Bongaon, all located in the North 24 Parganas district, and Bardhaman town announced a lockdown for almost a week.
Questions on strategy
Raising questions on the State government’s strategy to contain the pandemic, CPI(M) State secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra said none of the recommendations it had made in the all-party meetings have been implemented by it. Dr. Mishra suggested localised testing using a rapid mechanism so that containment measures can be implemented more strictly. He said he had spoken about community transmission which was taken very lightly by the State government. Earlier this week, the government admitted to community transmission in certain pockets.
The CPI(M) leader warned that if cases continue to rise and people do not get treatment then their faith in the government will be shaken which may lead to anarchy.
Meanwhile, a suspected COVID-19 patient, his pregnant wife and their child were allegedly assaulted by their neighbours at Patuli, following which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked people to fight the disease and not those who are infected.
The ongoing combat against the pandemic is a “fight for survival”, she said, adding that people should unitedly stand by the patients and help them recover quickly.
