Three more deaths from COVID-19 was reported from West Bengal on Thursday, taking the death toll in the state to 10.
The Mamata Banerjee government told the media that 24 new patients also tested positive for the novel coronavirus, while nine people have been discharged after recovering from the disease.
Photos showed a team of Kolkata municipal workers visiting the Beliaghata slum in Kolkata, a hotspot in the state.
New cases
According to the state government, at the moment there were 144 active cases in West Bengal.
The Telegraph quoted chief secretary Rajiva Sinha as saying at a press conference on Thursday, “There were 132 active positive till yesterday. Since then, there have been 24 new Covid-19-positive cases. The audit committee confirmed three new deaths… total deaths 10 so far... Nine have been released following cure, taking the total number of releases to 51... The total number of active Covid-19-positive cases in Bengal, as of Thursday, is 144.”
According to PTI Sinha said there were reports of repeated infections from four particular districts, but did not name any.
“We have identified those areas and taken containment measures,” he said.
Team visits Beliaghata slum
In Kolkata, a team of the municipal corporation visited the Beliaghata slum to collect data on the spread of the virus.
Anandabazar.com reported that a team wearing personal protective equipment were seen going into the slum, door-to-door, asking families if there were people who had fever, or showed symptoms like difficulty in breathing.
The report said the residents of the area seemed reluctant in giving out information, which the local councillor said was initial hiccups.
The Anandabazar.com report quoted local councillor Santanu Sen as saying, “It was the first day of the initiative, and it is normal for such hiccups to take place. We have to make people of the area trust the fact that this is being done for their own good. We have gone into this with the aim of gaining confidence of the people.”
Mamata Says ‘Don’t Indulge In Politics’
Amid increasing number of cases in the state, allegations of issues with distribution of ration, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that opposition parties to refrain from indulging in politics over food grain distribution.
A PTI report said that Banerjee claimed steps were being taken to ensure everybody got their ration from state-run shops.
“I would urge everybody not to indulge in politics over the number of COVID-19 cases in Bengal. Some political parties are also spreading rumours over the PDS system. I want to assure people that each of them would get food grains at the rations shops. There is no dearth of grains,” the chief minister was quoted by PTI as saying.
Opposition BJP and the CPI(M) have alleged that beneficiaries, especially the poor, were not getting food grains from state-run ration shops. There have been reports of clashes in parts of the state after people complained of not receiving enough food grains.
However, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh alleged that the TMC government was trying to score political brownie points over the issue.
“In many areas of the state, TMC leaders are in-charge of ration distribution. Who are they to do it? This ration is being provided by the central government, it should be distributed through the government mechanism,” Ghosh said.
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900 arrested
The lockdown violations continued in Kolkata, even as the district was declared a hotspot by the Centre. Reports suggest that 900 people were arrested for flouting the restrictions.
PTI reported that in various parts of the city like Sovabazar and Maniktala people were seen standing outside shops in close proximity in violation of the social distancing norms, ignoring repeated pleas by officials.
Many people were either arrested or detained by the police for not obeying the lockdown restrictions. At some places, people were reportedly made to do squats or frog jumps as punishment before they were let go.
A total of 912 people have been arrested in the city alone in 24 hours since Wednesday evening for defying the lockdown imposed by the government to contain the spread of COVID-19, a senior police officer told PTI.
More than 83 vehicles were also seized, the PTI report said.
The arrests were made by the Kolkata Police during checking at barricades at roads and patrolling across the metropolis, the police officer said.
(With PTI inputs)