Used PPE kits on roadside trigger panic in Kalyani

A few used PPE kits were found lying on a nroadside in Kalyani town in West Bengal, triggering panic in the area amid the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said on Friday. The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), used by frontline workers, were found lying behind the bushes on the roadside near Kalyani College on Thursday, they said. Kalyani Municipality Chairperson Sushil Kumar Talukdar said he will look into the matter.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital houses the isolation ward for COVID suspects and those testing positive are sent to the nearby SNR Carnival Covid Hospital, which is located off the Kalyani-Barrackpore Expressway. However, the PPE kits were found between Kalyani College and Kalyani Sub-Correctional Home.

"How these came here is a question. May be some ambulance driver has left these. We are always trying to maintain the safety in our town," Talukdar said.

He did not brush off the possibility of the PPE kits being left there by doctors or other frontline workers visiting the nearby jail.

"Doctors and many others visit the Kalyani Sub- Correctional Home. But we are not sure who left these here," he said.

According to the Nadia district's health department, so far 47 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Kalyani.