Covid-19 Covid-19 spike: Mamata shuts Bengal schools, halves workforce in govt offices, says no lockdown now
Kolkata/IBNS: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced the closure of all government schools and reduced the workforce in offices to 50 per cent daily, in the wake of the massive spike in Covid-19 cases in the poll-bound Indian state.
At a press conference in Malda amid her election campaigning, Banerjee turned down any possible lockdown as of now and also stated "night curfew" was not a solution to the spreading of the infection.
She said the government was focussing more on the "Work From Home" mode for official works.
The Chief Minister said her government has formed a taskforce and 11,000 beds in 200 safe homes are ready while 400 ambulances are deployed across the state.
"This is the second Covid-19 wave. There is no need to panic. Stay aware to curb the spread of the infection," Banerjee said.
"2,000 Covid-19 patients are in serious condition with comorbidities," she added.
Reiterating the announcement of reducing her poll campaigns, Banerjee said all political activities should be trimmed in the state, where three of eight phases of assembly elections are due to be held between Apr 22 and 29.
The Chief Minister has also announced the RT-PCR tests will be mandatory for the CAPF personnel, who are deployed in West bengal on election duty, while moving from one part of the state to another.
In the highest single-day spike, West Bengal, one of the most populous states in the country, on Sunday reported over 8,000 Covid-19 cases.
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