High Covid case count in dists with tourist spots cause for concern in Bengal

Prominent among the districts where Covid cases have been found to be on the higher side, are Darjeeling and Purba Medinipur. While Darjeeling is a popular hill station in north Bengal, tourists flock to the sea beaches of Digha and Mandarmani in Purba Medinipur

West Bengal is recording a high daily count of Covid-19 cases in districts with popular tourist destinations, leading to the speculation that tourism could be causing the spike, even as the overall daily count of the state is hovering between 600 and 800.

People over 18 register for a dose of Covid vaccine at a primary health centre in Siliguri, West Bengal. (File photo)

Prominent among the districts where Covid cases have been found to be on the higher side, are Darjeeling and Purba Medinipur. While Darjeeling is a popular hill station in north Bengal, tourists flock to the sea beaches of Digha and Mandarmani in Purba Medinipur.

“The number of cases in districts such as Darjeeling and Purba Medinipur is on the higher side. This could be because of tourists. Even though local trains continue to remain suspended, long distance trains and buses are plying,” said an official.

The number of cases in Kolkata and its adjoining districts such as North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly has always been higher than the rest of the districts.

While districts like Purulia, Jhargram, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur reported not more than 15 cases on Thursday, Darjeeling and Purba Medinipur recorded 74 and 48 cases. Kolkata, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas recorded 77, 88 and 68 cases respectively.

“The higher number of cases in Darjeeling could also be because it includes Siliguri which is a trading hub in north Bengal,” said another official.

“The district administrations have already taken some strict measures to restrict the flow of tourists. Tourists are not being allowed without a Covid-negative RT-PCR test report or vaccination certificate in several districts, including Purba Medinipur, Darjeeling, Birbhum and South 24 Parganas,” said a senior official of the state government.