No curbs on Christmas, Gangasagar mela as new Covid strain not found in state: Mamata

PTI, KOLKATA, DEC 22 , 2022: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said her government is not currently planningany restrictions on the Christmas celebrations and the Gangasagar mela in view of the advent of a new Covid-19variant, maintaining that it has not yet been detected in the state.

Mamata said that the pandemic, which paralysed normal life for long periods of time since it hit the country in March 2020, will be tackled as required if there is any resurgence in the state. "We are monitoring all these. 

We have set up a committee also to take care of everything," she said. The chief minister said that the annual Gangasagar Mela (fair), which attracts lakhs of pilgrims from different parts of India, will be held in January adhering to health safety guidelines as in 2020 and 2021. "If it (resurgence of Covid) happens, we will take precautions accordingly," she told reporters after meeting Governor C V Ananda Bose at Raj Bhavan. The chief minister said that she and Bose discussed the Covid-19 situation, among other issues, in the context of the advent of Omicron BF.7, a new variant of the virus. She said the situation is being closely monitored.

Asked whether people will be advised to adhere to any Covid-related restrictions during Christmas celebrations in Kolkata, she said that it will be addressed if the spread of the virus is detected here. "We thought Corona has ended,but it is (again) infecting people, mainly in China," Mamata said.