West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced the formation of a “global advisory board for COVID-19 response policy” to assist the state government in preparing a roadmap ahead. Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, 2019 Nobel laureate for Economics, will be part of the board. Eminent physician Dr Abhijit Chaudhury, will coordinate with the members for preparation of the roadmap. Several eminent persons who are renowned in their fields of work will be part of the board.
Mamata Banerjee, during the press conference today said that certain political parties were spreading fake information on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) using their information technology (IT) teams and trying to belittle the efforts of state government in handling the situation.
Without naming the political parties, the CM said that the state government has not received enough aid from the Centre in fighting the situation, yet it is putting up its best efforts in handling the situation. She urged the party to not engage in politics at such a time.
The state government has not received enough personal protective equipment (PPE), masks and gloves from the Centre, she said. Instead, the government is manufacturing these items on its own in the state to meet their shortage in various hospitals without having to wait for their supply from the Centre, Banerjee said.
The state has already ordered for over 12 lakh masks and around five lakh gloves in its manufacturing units.
Banerjee said that the number of active COVID-19 cases in the state till date is 61, out of which 55 are from seven families. Out of these 55 persons, 11 are from a family in Kalimpong. So far, 13 persons have been cured and discharged from hospitals in the state, she said.
Currently, 17 COVID-19 patients are admitted at Beliaghata Infectious Diseases (ID) Hospital in Kolkata. Out of them, 12 are doing very well, she said.
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