Getting no help from Centre on Covid-19, says Mamata ahead of video conference with PM Modi

india

Updated: Mar 20, 2020 15:38 IST

Hours after the second case of coronavirus disease Covid-19 was confirmed in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday alleged that the state government is receiving no help from the Centre in tackling the situation over Sars-Cov-2.

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She said this while addressing the media at the state secretariat, about an hour before attending a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over video conferencing. PM Modi is supposed to interact with all chief ministers in the evening and discuss ways to deal with the spread of the virus.

However, Banerjee refused to divulge details, saying she will talk about the steps during the video conferencing with PM Modi and brief the media afterwards.

She also asked why international flights were still landing in Kolkata. “Flights are to arrive till March 22. Why? It should stop immediately,” said Banerjee.

Incidentally, both the Covid-19 positive patients in West Bengal had returned from London.

The state health department on Friday said that both of these patients had contracted the disease during their stay abroad.

Banerjee announced that only half of the government employees will be working at any given time. She requested private companies to follow the same arrangement.

The health department employees who are working overtime will be given special leave after the Durga puja in October, Banerjee said.

The 22-year-old youth, the second Covid-19 positive case in West Bengal, has been admitted to the hospital. The authorities ave also quarantined his family members.

There are 206 Covid-19 cases in India, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Friday. The virus, which began in China in December last year, has killed more than 10,000 people globally and infected over 2,00,000.

“A total of 14,376 samples from 13,486 individuals have been tested for SARS-CoV2 as on March 20,” ICMR added.