KOLKATA: The West Bengal government on Monday released a list, saying four districts, including Kolkata, have been declared as red zones in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, and 287 areas in the metropolis identified as containment zones.
Howrah, North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur districts have been declared as red zones, besides Kolkata.
Eleven districts have been identified as orange zones, while eight are in the green zone, as per the list released by the state government.
Those in the orange zone are South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Paschim Medinipur, Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman, Kalimpong, Nadia, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Murshidabad and Malda.
The eight districts in the green zone are Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur, Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia and Jhargram.
As many as 287 areas in Kolkata, the majority of which are in the north and central parts of the city, have been identified as containment zones.
There were eight containment zones in Purba Medinipur district, out of which there are five zones from where there has been no report of any new COVID-19 infection since April 9, Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said.
In the North 24 Parganas district, there has been no report of any COVID-19 positive cases from 13 zones out of the total 57 containment zones, he said.
He said that out of the 287 containment zones in Kolkata, there have been no cases from 18 zones in the last two weeks.
Sinha further said that in Howrah district there were 56 containment zones, and from 13 of them there has been no new case of coronavirus infection.
He said if no new case is reported from a zone for at least 21 days, the government will announce relaxation there.
West Bengal till Monday registered 20 COVID-19 deaths and a total of 633 cases.
Of them, 504 are active cases and 109 people have been discharged from hospitals after they recovered.
According to the Union Helth Ministry, the number of COVID-19-stricken patients in the state stands at 649.
Meanwhile, The inter-ministerial central teams on COVID-19 assessment in West Bengal on Monday toured several areas of East Midnapore and Jalpaiguri districts to take stock of the situation at hospitals and oversee the implementation of lockdown norms.
The team in Kolkata, led by senior bureaucrat Apurba Chandra, went to Tamluk, Haldia and Paskura in East Midnapore district.
It visited the Baroma COVID Hospital, Paskura, District Hospital in Tamluk and S D Hospital in Haldia.
"At all the three hospitals, the team met senior officials and hospital superintendents. They took stock of the situation, inquired about minute details and data of the patients," a state government official said.
In Jalpaiguri district, the central team led by senior official Vineet Joshi, visited various hospitals and quarantine centres.
"They visited COVID-19 hospitals at Rajganj and Biswa Bangla Sports Centre and a few quarantine centres," another official said.
Joshi, while speaking to reporters, later, said in several areas, people were not adhering to lockdown norms.
There has been a war of words between the West Bengal government and the Centre over the arrival of the two central teams in the state to assess the coronavirus situation.
The teams have visited several hospitals and hotspot areas in the past couple of days to look into the state's preparedness for tackling the COVID-19 outbreak.
Doctor dies in Kolkata
A 69-year-old doctor, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died on Monday night at a private hospital in Kolkata, hospital sources said.
The doctor, who was a well-known orthopaedic, was admitted to a private hospital on April 14, they said.
"He tested positive for COVID-19 and was on ventilator since April 17. His condition deteriorated and he passed away on Monday at around 9:15 pm," a source said.
On Sunday, a senior government doctor who was on COVID-19 duty and tested positive died at the same private hospital.
Dr Biplab Kanti Dasgupta (60), posted as assistant director health services (equipment and stores), was initially admitted to Beliaghata Infectious Diseases hospital and later shifted to a private hospital in Salt Lake on April 18, where he succumbed to the disease.
West Bengal registered 20 COVID-19 deaths till Monday.
A total of 633 cases have been reported in the state, of which 504 are active cases while 109 have been discharged after being cured.
According to the Union health ministry, the number of COVID-19 patients in the state stands at 649.
The state government has constituted an audit committee of doctors which ascertains whether a patient of COVID-19 has died because of the disease or a pre-existing ailment.
Authorities of Nadia district on Monday put members of four families of a village in "home quarantine" as they came in contact with a COVID-19 patient, and sealed three local markets surrounding the rural hamlet, an official said.
The family members, including a civic volunteer of the local police station, came in contact with a person from neighbouring North 24 Parganas district when he had visited the Dhansara village to meet his in-laws before he tested positive for coronavirus.
"As a precautionary measure, we put members of the four families of Dhansara village under Haringhata block in home quarantine. The administration sealed three local markets - Dhansara, Jhikra and Dighal gram," an official said.
The patient, a resident of Ashoknagar area of North 24 Parganas district, is undergoing treatment in a hospital.