Kolkata: An IAS officer, who is posted as Joint Secretary of the state Land and Land Reforms Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation department, tested positive on Thursday. Her office is situated at Nabanna.
Sources said she was on maternity leave and joined office last Friday. She has been suffering from fever since Saturday. She also had other symptoms of COVID-19. Subsequently, her swab sample was collected and she tested positive. Her office houses room number 608 on the sixth floor of the 14-storeyed State Secretariat. Soon after the matter came to light, sanitisation work at her office and the surrounding area were carried out. The office room has been closed for the time being.
She has been quarantined and all the necessary treatment has been started. Steps have also been initiated for contact tracing. Sources said the concerned authorities are also trying to ascertain the officers and others in general who came in her contact after she joined office on Friday.
The first COVID-19 case in Bengal was of the 18-year-old son of a senior bureaucrat, who came to Kolkata from England after being infected with the disease. Necessary steps have been taken to avoid the spread of the disease after some employees including drivers of a few senior officers tested positive a few weeks ago.
Meanwhile, a man who used to work at a sweet shop in Gouribari area died inside the shop and nobody attended him as they claimed that the deceased was Covid positive. It was claimed that the victim had all the symptoms and a swab sample was also collected. On Tuesday, his report came positive while he died inside the shop on Wednesday.