1. 34 Active Cases In State, Toll Stays at 3: Govt
There are 34 active COVID-19 cases in Bengal, with three deaths till date, the government said on Thursday evening.
Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha gave these figures at 6:10pm, two hours after a government-appointed medical experts’ panel held that the number of Covid-19-positive cases till date was 53, with seven deaths, of whom four died in the last 24 hours.
Sinha started from the figure of 53 given by the experts’ panel. He explained that three of the 53 Covid-19-positive patients returned home after they were cured. “Another nine tested negative in the second test,” the chief secretary said, bringing down the active cases to 41.
(Source: The Times Of India)
2. After 10-Hour Protest, Belgachhia Victim Cremated In Dhapa at 5am
The body of a 57-year-old COVID-19 positive patient, a Belgachhia resident who died at NRS Hospital on Wednesday, was finally cremated at 5am on Thursday after a 10-hour standoff at the Dhapa crematorium. The body of the 66-year-old Nayabad resident, who died at a private hospital off Bypass, was also taken to the crematorium on Thursday night.
However, the body of the other Covid-19 patient who had died at a Belgharia nursing home on Wednesday, had to be kept in the morgue for the entire day, with KMC and police trying to convince irate locals in Dhapa that cremating Covid-19 patients would pose no health hazards to them. The body of the Nayabad vicitim that was kept at Peerless hospital morgue may be cremated late on Thursday or early on Friday morning.
(Source: The Times Of India)
3. Beating Lockdown Blues: Cops Sing ‘We Shall Overcome’ To People On Balconies
From “We shall overcome” to improvising a popular Bengali song, cops in Entally and Gariahat took to the streets to cheer people confined to their homes. The police efforts were lauded by netizens, some of whom even urged them to do it in their neighbourhoods, too.
A senior Gariahat officer said, “We have been trying to reach out to people, especially the elderly living alone.” The officer said they held a performance in Mandeville Gardens hoping to bring some cheer to people while stressing on the importance of the lockdown.
A15-minute impromptu act by 10 cops from Entally police station also went viral on social media. The men in uniform used a microphone to sing ‘We Shall Overcome’ to more than 600 residents from three high-rises, who then joined in from their balconies and rooftops. Inspired by scenes in Italy, where musicians have performed from balconies to lift the spirit of people amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kolkata Police officers said it was their way of saying thank you to all those who are staying home and making the lockdown a success.
(Source: The Times Of India)
4. Coronavirus Tables Turned On Union Minister From Bengal
A Union minister who had come out on the streets to spread awareness about the coronavirus pandemic and the resultant lockdown, urged people to stay indoors and helped people put on masks has been criticised for herself flouting quarantine and social-distancing rules.
Debasree Chaudhuri, the Union minister of state for women and child welfare who represents Raiganj in North Dinajpur, returned to Calcutta from New Delhi on 23 March and travelled by car to her constituency three days ago, ignoring the state government’s directive to those coming from other states, as also from abroad, to remain in 14 days’ home quarantine.
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. Doctors Avoid Nursing Homes In East Midnapore
Over 100 private nursing homes in East Midnapore are facing an unprecedented shortage of medical personnel after several doctors here refused to see patients starting last week in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.
More than half of the district’s private nursing homes, most of which are located in Tamluk, have seen an uptick in the number of patients coinciding with the unwillingness of several private practitioners to come to “overcrowded and unsafe” work environments.
Tamluk is a major medical hub providing treatment to patients from Howrah, East Midnapore, West Midnapore and neighbouring Odisha.
“The main reason many of us have been compelled to stop working, including at our private chambers, is the fear of community transmission of this highly contagious virus,” said a physician in Tamluk on the condition of anonymity.
(Source: The Telegraph)
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