With Durga Puja, the biggest festival in West Bengal, starting next week, the Mamata Banerjee government is gearing up for a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases of which doctors have already warned.
While leaves of government officials associated with the tacking the Covid-19 crisis have been cancelled, the government has also decided to set up a control room which would operate round-the-clock during the puja days.
Meanwhile, the state government on Monday also slashed the cost of RT-PCR tests in private labs from Rs 2,250 to Rs 1,500. The test is done for free in government laboratories.
“As the state government further caps the cost of Covid detection test at Rs 1,500, we will be implementing it as per the government directive given that these are pandemic times,” said Rupak Barua, president of association of hospitals of eastern India.
Banerjee also announced that she would virtually inaugurate the pujas which have sent invitations to her. Every year, the Trinamool Congress supremo inaugurates dozens of pujas, including those patronised by the party’s top guns. On Monday, she inaugurated one such puja.
“If I visit the pandal to inaugurate the puja, there would be crowding. I can do so virtually from the state secretariat. On October 15, pujas of north Kolkata would be inaugurated while south Kolkata pujas would be inaugurated on October 17. The pujas of west Kolkata and Behala would be inaugurated on October 16,” the CM said.
{{/usCountry}}“If I visit the pandal to inaugurate the puja, there would be crowding. I can do so virtually from the state secretariat. On October 15, pujas of north Kolkata would be inaugurated while south Kolkata pujas would be inaugurated on October 17. The pujas of west Kolkata and Behala would be inaugurated on October 16,” the CM said.
{{/usCountry}}While Kolkata is already witnessing a spike in Covid-19 numbers and daily cases have almost doubled in the past month, a doctors’ forum has warned that there could be a three to four-fold rise in Covid-19 cases if there is any laxity during the puja period.
Urging people to wear masks and maintain distance, the chief minister warned that community spread has started and cases are spiking because of inter-state movement.
Flooded with complaints of ambulance drivers demanding exorbitant rates from family members of covid-19 patients, the state government has also urged the regulatory commission to fix prices of ambulances.