All section Close
Highest Death Rate, Data Mismatch: Central Panel Red Flags Bengal Covid-19 Situation
Writer: Devyani Madaik
A media enthusiast, Devyani believes in learning on the job and there is nothing off limits when it comes to work. Writing is her passion and she is always ready for a debate as well.
West Bengal, 6 May 2020 8:13 AM GMT | Updated 6 May 2020 8:28 AM GMT
Editor : Shubhendu Deshmukh |
Shubhendu, the quint essential news junky, the man who loves science and politics in equal measure and offers the complete contrast to it by being a fan of urdu poetry as well.
Creatives : Abhishek M
" An engineer by profession, Abhishek is the creative producer of the team, graphic designing is his passion and travelling his get away. In more ways than one, he makes the content visually appealing."
The team was deployed to survey some districts for reviewing the implementation of the ongoing lockdown in the state.
IMCT team leader Apurva Chandra, in the letter, claimed that in West Bengal the total death toll due to coronavirus stood at 105 and 816 positive cases until April 30, clearly seen as a result of less testing and weak surveillance and tracing.
The letter stated that all the observations of the team were on the basis of the limited field facilitated by the state government.
The team also added the state held an 'agnostic view' towards the team, in contrast to other states, supporting and scheduling meetings with regard to the measures to be followed for the tracking. There was no database provided by the state government over their claim of conducting a high level of surveillance in containment zones.
In the same regard, Apurva has written seven letters to Sinha and four to the secretaries of the state's Home, Health, Urban Development and Municipality departments, but could only communicate with the Principal Secretary (Health) over a video call, receiving a partial response.
However, the letter also commended the state health department's efforts for increasing testing rate from 400 per day till April 20 to 2,410 per day on May 2, also mentioning the pooling of samples that have started in six labs. The committee advised the department to continue the robust testing in the same momentum.
The report has been submitted to the Union Home Ministry as 'Final Observation Of The IMCT'. The team has also sent a list of almost 37 questions to the state government, seeking the containment measures taken by the state and details of the people tested positive for the virus. The letter further stated the state to take up the suggestions conveyed through various communications in the right spirit.
On April 20, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to the PM, criticising the Centre's decision to send inter-ministerial teams to the state without prior information, breaching the established protocol and keeping the state government in the complete dark.
Must Reads
We are an independent and public-spirited digital media platform for Indian millennials. We report news and issues that matter as well as give you the opportunity to take action.
