North Bengal: NGOs may be roped in to intensify Covid vigil

MP | 17 July 2021 | Kolkata: The state Health department may engage various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other local bodies to further strengthen the Covid surveillance in various North Bengal districts, including Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Darjeeling, as the infection is still on the higher side despite several steps being followed by the district administration. 

The Health department has already instructed the administrative officials from the districts to maintain proper surveillance on those entering North Bengal from various north-eastern states. 

Health department is concerned about the fact that people in North Bengal may be infected as the people from other states enter the region without a vaccination certificate. 

Incidentally, the Global Advisory Committee has also recommended the state government to make it mandatory for the people from the other states to produce a double vaccination certificate or RT-PCR negative report. 

The Health department has been advised by the committee to open checkpoints in the strategic locations. 

Those reaching the state by train or vehicles will have to produce vaccination certificates or RT-PCR negative reports. It is yet to be decided where the checkpoints will be set up. The Health department has already started sentinel surveillance in order to identify the prevalence of infection in various districts. 

To reduce the infection rate, the sentinel surveillance will be carried out by the Health department within a gap of 15 days as recommended by the Global Advisory Committee. 

As per Friday's health bulletin, the number of daily infected cases in Jalpaiguri stands at 79, Darjeeling 65, Cooch Behar 37, Alipurduar 33. 

Daily infection in Jalpaiguri on Friday is more than that of in Kolkata as the latter registered 77 fresh cases. 

The district administrations have also been directed to conduct more screening. Officials have been asked to maintain strict enforcement of Covid protocols. 

In some places, people are not properly following the protocols like wearing masks and maintaining physical distance. 

http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/bengal-rajya-sabha-by-election-on-august-9-446858?infinitescroll=1