CM urges elderly MLAs to take pneumonia vaccine

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Assembly on Tuesday urged the MLAs who are above 60 to take anti-pneumonia vaccine, as it would help them develop some sort of resistance mechanism against COVID-19.

Banerjee's message to the MLAs is immensely significant as the mortality rate due to Coronavirus is much higher among the elderly persons. It has been learnt that in normal cases the mortality rate of COVID-19 is around 2 percent, but the number goes up to 8 percent when the affected victims are above the age of 60. Three persons, who have died of Coronavirus in the country so far, are all above the age of 60. A programme was organised at the Assembly on Tuesday to commemorate the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The Chief Minister and Speaker Biman Banerjee were also present at the programme.

Sukhbilas Barma, the Congress MLA from Jalpaiguri, was seen coughing during the programme and he appeared to be suffering from some ailments. It drew the attention of the Chief Minister, who urged him to take anti-pneumonia vaccine. She subsequently requested all the MLAs above 60 to take the vaccine as a protective measure. Anti-pneumonia vaccine may create a resistance against Coronavirus. The Speaker also inquired about the health condition of Barma.

Meanwhile, the 18-year-old son of a top bureaucrat, who had been admitted to Beliaghata ID Hospital earlier, tested positive for Coronavirus, making it the first case in Bengal. He had recently returned from London. Another patient, who came from Bangladesh, has been admitted to the hospital with similar symptoms.

The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission Chairperson Justice (retired) Ashim Kumar Banerjee, Secretary Arshad Hasan Warsi along with members Dr Makhanlal Saha and Dr Maitreyi Banerjee visited some of the top private hospitals in the city to check if they have put in place adequate infrastructure to combat any possible situation.

The senior officials have also gone through the arrangements at these hospitals and checked if they are following the guidelines set by the Health department. The officials also examined if there are adequate beds in the isolation wards.

"We visited the hospitals under the leadership of Justice Banerjee to take stock of the precautionary measures taken by the hospitals and what methods they have been following during screening. We have also asked the hospitals to make sure that suspected Coronavirus cases do not come in close contact with other patients. We are more or less satisfied but there is still scope for improvement. The state government has already sent a standard operating procedure (SOP) to all the private hospitals," Warsi said.

In another development, three persons were admitted to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital with suspected COVID-19 symptoms.

According to state Health department data, more than 11,000 people have been kept under isolation in their homes.