West Bengal is alert and prepared to tackle any deterioration in the Covid-19 situation, Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya told a national-level meeting on Friday.
At the virtual meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Bhattacharya said that West Bengal will be a part of the countrywide mock drill on December 27 to ensure the readiness of infrastructure with a specific focus on oxygen plants, ventilators, logistics and human resources. "The state government is alert and ready to combat any Covid-19 situation. We also need to see that there is no panic among the people regarding this," Bhattacharya said at the meeting, which she attended from the state secretariat.
"There will be a countrywide Covid-19 mock drill on December 27. West Bengal will be conducting the drill as well," she said. Bhattacharya briefed Mandaviya about the present Covid-19 situation in West Bengal, and told him that the state was continuing with genome sequencing. She also informed the meeting about the state's health infrastructure, especially developed to fight the coronavirus.
"There are 28 health districts in West Bengal with 35 RTPCR laboratories. Each district has a Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH). We also have an ample number of beds and ICUs," she said. She also enquired Mandaviya about the effectiveness of the vaccines on the new variant of the virus. The meeting, convened in view of the recent surge in coronavirus cases in some parts of the world, was attended by health ministers and senior officials of all states and Union territories.
The meeting reviewed the public health system's preparedness for the containment and management of Covid-19 and the progress of the vaccination campaign.
