With five districts in West Bengal witnessing a huge surge in Covid-19 cases, the West Bengal government on Monday asked officials in these vulnerable districts, which include the metropolis of Kolkata and industrial districts of Howrah and Hooghly, to strictly enforce Covid restrictions and speed up vaccinations to arrest the disturbing trend.
Chief secretary HK Dwivedi, held a virtual meeting with the district administrators of Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Birbhum on Monday to stress the need to be more vigilant, officials said.
Dwivedi directed officials to earmark areas reporting more Covid-19 cases as 'containment or micro containment' zones to cap the rise of transmission, he added.
"He has directed the administrations of these five districts to increase vigilance to see that restrictions are strictly followed. He has instructed them to strictly deal with those found violating Covid-19 safety norms. Wearing masks has been made mandatory for everyone," the official told PTI.
"He has, however, asked the police administration not to go overboard while enforcing the restrictions," he added.
The Chief Secretary also directed the district administration to speed up the vaccination programme and ensure that those "waiting for second doses are administered without any delay".
Officials of these districts were also asked to build more 'safe homes' there and ensure that an adequate number of beds are ready in hospitals.
Kolkata had the lion's share of Covid cases reporting 5,556 cases on Monday, with North 24 parganas which houses many of Kolkata's satelite towns and IT hub of Salt lake city coming a close second with 4,297 cases.
The industrial districts of Howrah and Hooghly together accounted for 2,559 cases.
Dwivedi was accompanied by Home secretary BP Gopalika and other senior officials and health secretary NS NIgam at the meeting held virtually.
Meanwhile, Nigam directed healthcare workers, who had gone in for isolation after testing positive for Covid-19, to resume work in case they have tested negative for the disease and do not have any health issues, officials said.
