BALURGHAT: A high-level review meeting to analyse the overall COVID-19 situation of South Dinajpur was conducted at Balurghat district administrative building in presence of District Magistrate Nikhil Nirmal. Senior administrative and health officials took part in the meeting.
Through this meeting it has been decided that shops and establishments shall remain open from 8 am to 4 pm daily from August 28 instead of 8 am to 2 pm in all 30 containment zones of the district.
The business community of the district had earlier demanded the same to the district administration. Sellers and consumers in the markets are being requested to wear masks while shopping. If any seller is found without wearing a mask, a case under NDMA Act will be initiated, said a official.
However, the recent increase in the positivity rate is attributed to the increase in number of tests done in recent times. "It has been found that the rate of increase in positivity is less than the rate of increase in the number of tests. The total number of tests done in TRUENAT in the district is 2,077 so far and the positivity rate is even lower here of only seven percent," the official said.
Counselling session started in all the Safe Homes of the district twice in the week for the patients staying here. Patients staying in Home Isolation are contacted over telephone regularly and if anyone is found in trouble, he/she is shifted to Safe Home immediately. Food Safety officers have been engaged to check the quality of food supplied to the patients at Safe Homes regularly for all the items served at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Two more Safe Homes in Hili and Gokorno will be added shortly.
Meanwhile, a dedicated ambulance has been tagged with every Safe Home for shifting of patients to Covid hospital in case of any emergency.