Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today clarified that the state government is not issuing any Covid-19 advisory to people at the moment as the state has not registered any cases of the BF.7 subvariant of the coronavirus till now.
Four cases of the Omicron BF.7 sub-variant, which is believed to be driving the surge in Covid-19 infections in China, have been found in the country. “We are not considering issuing any restrictions. If the situation demands then we will take necessary precautions and also stress on masks and social distancing. But as of now, the situation is good in West Bengal,” said Miss Banerjee after meeting Governor CV Ananda Bose at Raj Bhawan this evening.
“I discussed about Covid with the Governor. We are closely monitoring the situation. An expert committee has been set up to suggest ways to tackle the situation. We thought Covid had ended but no, we were wrong. Again, cases are rising in China and many countries. Here, too fresh Covid cases were registered in Delhi and Kerala,” she said. She ruled out all apprehension that the situation may deteriorate in view of the expected huge crowds during upcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations.
“Shouldn’t people enjoy themselves during the festive season? As there is no Covid here so people are able to move around freely. If fresh cases arise then we will take precautions,” Miss Banerjee added. Later, the Covid monitoring committee held its first meeting under the leadership of state chief secretary HK Dwivedi at Nabanna. Miss Banerjee had set up the committee yesterday to monitor the situation and advise the government on the steps that are to be taken. With Covid raging afresh in China, the Centre has asked states to increase genome sequencing to track new variants and curb the spread of infections.