18 COVID-19 quarantine centres to come up in Hills

Darjeeling: In the fight against the pandemic, 18 COVID-19 care and quarantine centres will be opened up in the Darjeeling district, including 10 in the Hills.

State Tourism minister Gautam Deb announced after multiple rounds of meetings: "There will be 10 COVID-19 care centres in the Hills and 8 in the plains in and around Siliguri." The 10 facilities in the Hills include TB Hospital at Batasia in Darjeeling, Youth Hostel in Darjeeling, Tourist Guest House, GTA, Puttabong, Old Degree College, Bijanbari, Jorpokhari Tourist Lodge, Sukhiapokhari, Mirik College, Nayabazar Community Hall, Kurseong, Sukna Community Hall, Kurseong, Mungpoo ITI, Tukdah, Darjeeling and Kanchenjunga School, Patlebas, Darjeeling. Two private nursing homes have also been requisitioned to start COVID-19 hospitals. These include a superspecialty nursing home adjacent to Himachal Vihar in Matigara, with the other being in Fulbari.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister stated in a press conference that 4 of the family members of the woman from Kalimpong who has died from COVID-19 have tested positive.

"The husband of the deceased, her brother-in-law, sister-in-law and their 3-year-old child have tested positive. They have been housed in the isolation ward of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH). However the swab test of the driver has tested negative," said Dr Kaushik Majumdar, super, NBMCH.

With the sanitary workers of NBMCH not turning up for work citing personal safety reasons, the SDO has deputed a team for this. Along with this, the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority and the Siliguri Municipal Corporation have deputed two separate teams for sanitary work.

With Kalimpong in the grip of panic, Anit Thapa, chairman, GTA has decided to shift base to Kalimpong. "As an administrator I feel the need to be with the people of Kalimpong during this difficult time. I will be working from ground zero and leading from the front," stated Thapa.

Meanwhile Amar Singh Rai, former MLA, Darjeeling donated his 6 month Ex-MLA pension to acquire PPEs for the frontline workers and doctors for Kalimpong and Darjeeling districts.