Centre sent faulty kits, now trying to defame us: Mamata
Kolkata: Amid a war of words between the Centre and the Bengal government over Inter-Ministerial Central Teams being sent to the state for assessment of Coronavirus-hit districts, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday stated that faulty and inadequate testing kits were dispatched to the state and attempts were being made to defame her administration.
Banerjee's attack comes a day after the visit of the Central teams without any prior consultation with the state government that led to heated exchanges of letters between the two.
She said firstly, an insufficient number of kits was sent to Bengal and then most of those were withdrawn by the Indian Council of Medical Research (IMCR) and NICED. She added: "A patient may die if tests are not undertaken at the right time. Whose fault is it? However, we have managed to undertake 7,037 tests so far just from our own preparedness by placing a separate order for kits. In such a scenario, they have no work apart from holding meetings, sending teams and spreading canards that fewer tests are being carried out in Bengal."
The Chief Minister further said there are three types of kits of which all 10,000 rapid test kits and BGI RT-PCR kits were withdrawn and there was a short supply of the third type (the antigen kits), that is again not available in Bengal. "I really don't understand what is their plan," Banerjee questioned, stating that besides providing inadequate kits, only 7,000 PPEs were supplied while the state government has distributed 4.19 lakh.
Negating the claim that purposely fewer number of tests were being carried out, Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said: "We have carried out 7507 tests and 855 tests were carried out in the past 24 hours. Only 26 have tested positive. Around 85 tests were carried out in Malda and all tested negative."
Giving detailed statistics on the number of different kits received by the state government, Sinha said: "Only 2500 single swab Viral Transfer Mediums (VTM) were received in two phases while 7037 tests have been undertaken in the state when two of these kits is required for one test. We have ordered 45000 VTMs. ICMR supplied 3456 RNA extractors. So, we have ordered 14,000 RNAs. Without direct procurement, tests would not have been possible." In connection with faulty rapid test kits, he said that the ICMR should have undertaken necessary tests before sending it to the state.
Meanwhile, a fresh controversy triggered with the Chief Minister stating that Supreme Court's order regarding fake news and migrant labourers has been used in the Centre's letter to the Chief Secretary in connection with the visit of the Central teams to the state. This came after letters were exchanged between Sinha and Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla. Brushing aside all allegations that no cooperation was extended towards the Central teams, Sinha wrote back to Bhalla saying that the state government was not in a position to provide them with logistics as they had come without prior intimation.
The Chief Minister on Wednesday slammed Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar saying that it is better not to discuss him at all as it was he who tweeted advising better coordination between the Centre and the state.
The Centre on Wednesday sent another letter urging the state government to ensure the safety of doctors and the health staff. Sinha said there were only five to six cases of harassment of doctors and health workers in Bengal, which is least compared to other states.
At least 300 people in the state have tested COVID-19 positive with 32 fresh cases in the past 24 hours. As many as 79 people have been released in the past 24 hours.
