1. 76-Year-Old, 8 Others Set To Be Discharged
A 76-year-old Covid-19 patient who also had several other medical conditions, is likely to be among four patients who will be released from Beliaghata ID Hospital on Saturday. The woman is the oldest Covid-19 patient in Bengal to have recovered. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday indicated that nine patients were on their way to recovery and were likely to be discharged very soon.
According to treatment protocol, samples must test negative in consecutive tests conducted within 24 hours. For some of these patients, the results of the second confirmatory tests are expected late on Friday.
(Source: The Times Of India)
2. MR Bangur City’s First COVID Hospital, MCH Plan Dropped
The Bengal government on Friday designated MR Bangur Hospital in Tollygunge as the city’s first Covid-19 hospital, on a day the state’s total number of “active Covid-19-positive” cases officially rose by four to 38.
The move comes a little more than a week after the government initially identified Medical College Hospital (MCH) and planned to use it for this purpose. That plan, it was learnt, was shelved because MCH did not meet the specifications of the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for Airborne Infection Isolation (AII) rooms.
(Source: The Times Of India)
3. Didi Spares PM, But Harsh On ‘Some’
Mamata Banerjee has refused to get into a political spar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his plea to people to light lamps to show that the country is united in the fight against Covid-19 and asserted that her immediate priority is to tackle the pandemic.
The Bengal chief minister, who has steered clear of locking horns with Modi or his government since Covid-19 assumed serious proportions in India, apparently got agitated on Friday when journalists asked her what she thought of his plea to light lamps at 9pm on Sunday.
“You do it, he has asked you to do it, so you do it. Why are you asking me?” Mamata asked while addressing a news conference at the state secretariat in the evening.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. Bengal To Practice Parsimony For Coronavirus Fight
The Bengal government has decided to tread the path of austerity to ensure smooth flow of funds to fight Covid-19 as the state’s revenue generation has been seriously affected because of the ongoing lockdown and lack of financial assistance from the Centre.
“The state government is currently required to incur heavy unforeseen expenditure to combat the situation arisen due to such pandemic outbreak. The 21-day lockdown, which is currently in force throughout India, has severely affected the economy of the country and the state,” read a finance department order on 2 April.
A source said the special austerity drive would be applicable for the first quarter of the 2020-21 financial year and it would be reviewed after two months.
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. Popular Bengali Serials Make A Comeback On TV Screens
Bengali private television channels, including Zee, Colors Bangla and Star Jalsha, have followed in the footsteps of Doordarshan and brought popular serials back on the small screen.
The serials that have made a comeback include ‘Ek Akasher Niche’, ‘Agnipariksha’, ‘Amar Durga’, ‘Deep Jwele Jai’, ‘Goyenda Ginni’, ‘Bhutu’, ‘SaReGaMaPa’, ‘Mirakkel’, ‘Mahaprabhu Sree Chaitanya’, ‘Manasa’, ‘Bojhena Se Bojhena’ and ‘Songsar Sukher Hoi Romonir Gune’. Psychologists say this will help deal with the severe anxiety levels of homemakers who have suddenly plunged into depression following the no-show in the evenings.
(Source: The Times Of India)
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