The Mamata Banerjee government on Thursday indicated that there was no special containment plan for the four districts that the Centre had identified as coronavirus “hotspots”, underscoring that it was already doing everything that Delhi had laid down for such areas.

A day after the Union health ministry listed Calcutta, Howrah, East Midnapore and North 24-Parganas among 170 districts marked as “hotspots” for Covid-19 that can earn the infection-free tag only if they report no new cases for 28 days, Bengal chief secretary Rajiva Sinha was asked — in the chief minister’s presence — if the Centre had taken the decision in consultation with the state.

“The Centre and the state have been working with the same set of figures, they have given a terminology regarding which areas are called containment zones. Actually, red, green, blue — these have now become your (media) favourite colours, which makes you look for red, green, blue all the time,” said Sinha, apparently referring to the colour-coding assigned by the Centre to the hotspots.

A hotspot — labelled a red zone — would become an orange zone if no new cases are reported for 14 days. It would become an infection-free green zone if it has no cases for 28 days.

“The main thing is that where repeated cases have been coming from — four districts — those areas are to be marked and arrangements made for containment, we were told. We have taken complete measures for the districts that were mentioned,” said Sinha.

“Classification-wise, they have mentioned four districts. Even otherwise, wherever we felt necessary, containment measures for ensuring there is no spread outside those areas, we have been making all sorts of arrangements,” the chief secretary added.

Union health officials said the hotspots would need to implement the strict containment measures outlined in the health ministry guidelines. The other districts that have reported cases would also need to implement cluster-containment strategies.

“I had told you earlier also, micro-planning (the state government’s term for managing hotspots) is being made, there we have been tightening matters further; so that the disease does not spread out of there,” said Sinha.

According to the containment plan proposed by the Centre, state health authorities would need to conduct surveillance for influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) in the areas under geographic quarantine and their adjoining districts.

Asked if the Centre has sent the state enough kits for conducting tests for people with SARI, Sinha said: “Let me make it clear, all your questions start from what the central government has said and what the state government has been doing. I don’t understand this bias with central government instructions. Let me make it clear to all the people sitting in the media room, that health is a state subject.”

“Covid-19 is a national pandemic. For this, the Centre and the state have been working together. In this there cannot be such issues, that the Centre is issuing instructions and the state government is not following them,” Sinha said.

“This type of questions that you all have been framing, on, for instance, door-to-door testing…. The Centre — whether it is on lockdown, relaxation, restriction — the Union home ministry, cabinet secretary, health department, health ministry, everybody is saying everybody will work together as one,” he said.

“There is ongoing information exchange between us. Whatever measures need to be taken — we have our expert group here, our global advisory board too — we have been taking everyone’s opinion, with everyone, for the work we are doing,” he added. “Rest assured that on behalf of the state government there is no deficit in this effort or planning. We have been doing everything necessary.”

Sources in the state cabinet said the chief minister felt that too much was being said in the mainstream and social media about the alleged differences between the Centre and her government regarding the Covid-19 war effort.

“Efforts will be made to dispel these notions, because it is not really true and this is shifting attention from the excellent work by our government…,” a minister said.