While nearly 14.5 lakh people are screened for COVID-19 and three were kept under surveillance in West Bengal, none of the cases turned out to be positive, said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She held a meeting with State officials on Friday to contain the disease and argued that there is "no reason to panic."
“Screenings are being done at various check posts and airports. We have screened 1,42,811 people, of which three people are kept under surveillance. But the results were negative so there are no cases in Bengal so far,” said Ms. Banerjee.
She added that 1,541 travellers from 19 countries, namely China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam were screened, of which 234 were kept in isolation. But none of the cases tested positive. Isolation wards are also set up in about a dozen State-run medical facilities.
The State Government provided a 24x7 Call Centre (1800-3134-444-222) and a helpline number (033-3241-2600) to assist the publicwith their queries regarding COVID-19. A training program is also being developed and Quick Response teams in district hospitals are being set up.
“About 6,800 professionals have been equipped with Personal Protective Equipment and masks in medical stored,” said Ms. Banerjee.
Addressing the issue of unavailability of masks in medical stores, Ms. Banerjee said, “If the masks are being hoarded, I will confiscate all the masks and distribute from our side,” cautioning the public to buy masks from trusted sources.
