Bengal records second corona death; nodal hospitals to come up in all districts

West Bengal recorded its second COVID-19 fatality on Monday and reported one more fresh case while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ramped up measures to fight the outbreak through setting up nodal hospitals in all the 22 districts of the state to treat such patients.

Banerjee announced that an insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh would be extended to healthcare professionals, sanitation workers and police personnel, who have been aiding the government in the fight against coronavirus.

Earlier, the government had sanctioned an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh for people working in the healthcare sector.

She said anyone found ostracising healthcare workers who have been attending to COVID-19 patients would be arrested.

A 44-year-old woman from Kalimpong, who was recently infected with coronavirus, died at a state-run hospital in north Bengal early this morning.

She had recently returned from Chennai, where she had gone for the treatment of her daughter.

Her daughter and the doctor, who was treating the woman, have been quarantined at a centre, a health department official said.

Meanwhile, 67 people who came in contact with the family of five COVID-19 patients of Tehatta in Nadia district have been put under home quarantine.

The total number of coronavirus cases has risen to 22 in West Bengal, including the two deaths. An elderly man from Kolkata had died from COVID-19 last week.

During a review meeting on the pandemic at state secretariat Nabanna, the chief minister directed the administration to set up a dedicated nodal hospital in all the districts to deal with cases of COVID-19.

"The nodal hospitals would come up in each and every district of the state. Apart from that, facilities of private hospitals in various districts would also be used for setting up isolation wards," Banerjee said.

Amid reports of ostracism of healthcare workers in various parts of the state, she asked police to arrest the culprits immediately whenever "such a crime is reported".

Banerjee announced that all sweet shops in West Bengal would remain open from noon to 4 pm every day, giving relief to the sweet makers and milk vendors in the state.

She directed top police officers attending the meeting to arrange for blood donation camps across the state.

Banerjee directed her administration to ensure that migrant workers of other states get food items regularly even if they do not possess ration cards.

Meanwhile, the correctional services department in West Bengal has prepared a list of 3,000 inmates who were eligible for parole and bail, in keeping with a Calcutta High Court order that sought to decongest jails amid the growing COVID-19 threat.

Responding to the call of Banerjee for donations, premier institutions of the state, Calcutta University, Jadavpur University, and St Xavier's University, have pledged to contribute to the West Bengal State Emergency Relief Fund and help in the government's fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

West Bengal Bar Council has written to state Law minister Moloy Ghatak, seeking financial assistance for lawyers and junior advocates who are not in good financial health and facing distress due to the lockdown.