After receiving loads of allegations from the opposition, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has finally opened up about the state of the health crisis in the West Bengal. She informed on Tuesday that 91,515 cases of Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and 872 cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) were found in 5.57 crore households as a result of door-to-door surveillance conducted by her government in the state.
Mamata Banerjee revealed in a Facebook post, “During the period of 7th April to 3rd May, 5.57 crore total household visits have been conducted. 872 cases of persons with SARI and 91,515 cases of persons with ILI have been identified and given necessary health advice. 375 people have also been admitted to different health facilities. 62 of them have tested positive for Covid-19 with the affected being treated at our hospitals. The surveillance efforts are ongoing and we will not stop till we together defeat Corona in Bengal.”
As per reports, South 24 Parganas tops the list with 8712 patients of respiratory diseases, followed by Burdwan East (6785) and Alipurdaur (5,906). A massive effort of the door to door surveillance was undertaken by 60,000 specially trained ASHA and health workers non-stop for the past 4 weeks, has been ongoing for the past one month to identify SAR and ILI cases. Mamata Banerjee added, “The surveillance gives us early warning signals and is an important proactive step in fighting Covid-19.”
It may be noted that Coronavirus infection causes Influenza-like Illness, apart from several other infections, while Severe Acute Respiratory Illness is an advanced stage of COVID-19.
Allegations against Mamata Banerjee in handling the coronavirus outbreak
The health-care experts believe that the situation in Bengal is very grave as the Mamata Banerjee-led government has not been giving real data to assess the actual seriousness of the pandemic. From threats to doctors for whistleblowing against the state government against lack of facilities to allegations of state government illegally disposing of dead bodies, there have been serious allegations against the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal.
Mamata Banerjee is also indulging in rants against the centre
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister herself is engaging in rants against the Central Government and a lack of cooperation on her part with authorities at the center has been reported on numerous occasions. She is busy making false claims about the central government and accuses them of undue political interference in the affairs of her state. Mamata Banerjee has also asked Coronavirus positive patients to quarantine themselves at home, indicating that the spread of the virus is much greater than admitted by the state government.
