The West Bengal government said on Thursday that the total number of active COVID-19 cases in the had gone up to 80 with 12 patients testing positive for the novel coronavirus.
According to numbers announced by the Mamata Banerjee government, 104 people in total have been infected with COVID-19, five people have died and 19 people have recovered.
Union health ministry data, however, put the total number of positive cases at 116, saying 16 people had been discharged and five had died.
New cases
PTI reported chief minister Mamata Banerjee as saying on Thursday, “Today, three persons were released, but 12 fresh cases were reported. The total number of active cases now stands at 80 in Bengal.”
According to the report, of the 12 new cases are one is a health worker and one is a medical superintendent-cum-vice principal (MSVP) of a state-run hospital in Howrah.
Anandabazar.com reported that the MVSP had been present in several meetings with members of the district administration and members of the coronavirus tast force. Apart from that the MVSP was also in contact with colleagues such as nurses, doctors and other health workers, posing a problem for the administration.
Banerjee was quoted by the report as saying, “Many people have to be put on quarantine because of which we have to send a new team to the hospital.”
The chief minister requested people in the area not to go to the Howrah district hospital for now and instead go to the ESI Hospital in Uluberia and the Sanjiban Hospital and College.
So far family members of the MSVP and the health worker have been placed under quarantine.
Don’t gather for celebrations, says Mamata
The chief minister also requested people not to gather to celebrate festivals like the Bengali new year and the charak mela.
PTI quoted her as saying, “There are so many occasions lined up...yesterday there was Shab-a-Barat, then there is Bengali New Year in a few days, next comes ‘charak mela’, but people cannot gather or celebrate due to the lockdown.”
For the latest news and more, follow HuffPost India on Twitter, Facebook, and subscribe to our newsletter.
What about the lockdown?
The question mark remained on the lockdown with Banerjee saying “I cannot say how long this lockdown will continue.”
PTI reported that Banerjee stressed that even if the shutdown remains in force, “things have to be looked into from a humane point of view to ensure that common people don’t starve”.
She reiterated that things will become clear only after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the situation. “But if the lockdown continues, we must see things from a humanitarian point of view so that people do not starve to death.... we have to maintain a balance,” Banerjee said.
She also said that chances of reopening schools were quite low.
New App launched
The West Bengal government also launched a new app called Sandhane, literally meaning “in search of” to track coronavirus cases in the state.
ASHA workers will use this app to track COVID-19 hotspots.
PTI reported they would conduct surveys and upload information on areas, where people in large numbers were exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19.
The administration, with the help of the information from the app, will earmark vulnerable areas and take necessary action to contain the spread of the disease.
“Accredited social health activists (Asha) will visit every household in the state and take note if there is a significant number of fever cases or cases of cough and cold in a particular area. The activists will feed the data into the app. The data will be monitored from Nabanna directly,” chief secretary Rajiva Sinha was quoted by The Telegraph as saying.
Eight hotspots have so far been identified on Bengal.
Future of jute workers at stake
Reports suggest that the 43 lakh jute workers in West Bengal could be affected by the lockdown because they work on a “no work, no pay” basis.
The Centre had suggested that they be exempt from the lockdown, but the government has not said anything about this.
The Telegraph quoted a member of the Jute Workers’ Federation as saying, “The problem is, the majority of the workers in the jute industry are budli workers, who are not paid if they don’t report for work. If the lockdown continues, what would happen to them?”
The report said that West Bengal had 59 jute mills where 3 lakh people work directly and 40 lakh work indirectly.
Read the full report on The Telegraph here.
Relaxation for transport sector
PTI reported Banerjee as saying that her government was exploring the option of granting a partial relaxation to the transport sector and allowing some industries to operate with a small workforce amid the ongoing lockdown to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
After a meeting with trade and industry representatives, Banerjee said the state government is contemplating the idea of minimal transportation like giving a go-ahead to taxis to hit the streets again, but carrying not more than four persons, including the driver.
“We have already allowed home delivery of food and other goods.... Some kind of transportation is needed (for the movement of various goods) but not in a mass manner.
“But whatever we do, it has to be done honouring the lockdown for the sake of human lives,” PTI quoted Banerjee as saying.
The report said that the state government is also thinking of allowing certain industries to operate with a small number of workers inside factories, Banerjee said, adding, “Hand sanitisers and masks should be made compulsory for them.”
(With PTI inputs)