The West Bengal government on Wednesday said it would cooperate with the Centre hours after the Union government accused it of obstructing a central team deputed to assess the coronavirus ground situation.
Meanwhile, Odisha is worried about the number of coronavirus cases in its state that have links to Bengal.
On Wednesday West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha wrote to the Union home secretary saying, “This is to convey my highest assurances for the implementation of the orders of central government issued under the Disaster Management Act as well as the directions of the Honb’le Supreme Court.”
Sinha said it was not a fact that the two Inter Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) have not been provided with any cooperation by the state government since he had two meetings with one team and also was in touch with the other.
He also said that “up-to-date” reports had been shared with the team.
A home ministry spokesperson welcomed the West Bengal government’s assurance of cooperation to the two visiting teams, PTI reported.
The ruling Trinamool Congress had on Tuesday said that the central teams had arrived in the state without following due procedure or informing the state administration. It has also questioned why such delegations were not sent to states with much higher numbers of infections and hotspots.
As of Wednesday morning, the state had reported 423 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.
It’s neighbour Odisha had on Monday expressed concerns that 24 of the 74 infected persons till then had links with West Bengal, The Hindu reported. According to the report, most of these people had clandestinely entered Odisha.
The Odisha government has sent rapid response teams to oversee containment measures in Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts, which border Bengal, the report said.
Biggest crisis in human history, says Mamata
On Earth Day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the COVID-19 pandemic as the biggest threat in the history of human civilisation.
“But a bigger threat is staring at us - climate change. We must all act together to fight these challenges and preserve our beautiful planet,” she tweeted.
A day earlier, Banerjee toured a number of places of Kolkata and urged people to stay indoors and exercise necessary precaution to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said that around 28,000 people across the state had been booked under different sections of the IPC for violating lockdown norms since “March-end”. Around 3,000 vehicles have also been impounded in connection with the non-adherence of safety restrictions, he said.
Kolkata Police on Tuesday arrested at least 839 people in the city for defying lockdown rules, not wearing masks while stepping outside and spitting in the open.
Covid-19 patient gives birth
A COVID-19 patient in Howrah district gave birth to a baby and the health condition of both of them is stable, hospital authorities told PTI on Wednesday.
The pregnant woman was admitted to the Sanjiban Hospital in the Fuleswar area on April 13 and she later tested positive for the infection, said Director Subhasis Mitra.
She had no complications while giving birth, in a relief to the doctors, Mitra said. The baby’s weight is 2.7 kg, he said, adding that the conditions of both the mother and the child are stable.
(With PTI inputs)