Mamata Banerjee on Monday said there was nothing to panic about the Covid-19 situation in Bengal as the state government was taking all necessary steps to keep the spread under control and provide treatment to affected people.

“There is no reason to panic... We have about 2,000 serious patients these days, who have comorbidities. We have taken steps to set up 4,500 more beds, of which 1,000 have already been added to the facilities,” said the chief minister in Malda on Monday.

The assurance by the chief minister holds significance at a time the number of active cases in the state crossed 57,000 on Monday.

“The chief minister wanted to assure people that the state government is aware of the situation and there is no scarcity of beds for Covid-19 patients at the moment,” said a senior health department official.

Sources also said Mamata mentioned the figure of serious patients to make it clear that people should not press the panic button right at the moment as the majority of the infected had either mild or no symptoms.

At the same time, the chief minister assured people that there would be no shortage of beds in the state in case more serious patients turned up at hospitals.

“In greater Calcutta, we have 3,200 beds and 1,000 more beds have been added to the facilities. Besides, we have more than 200 safe homes and other centres where patients could get proper treatment,” said Mamata.

Soon after the chief minister announced plans to add more beds to the 100-odd Covid treatment facilities, the top brass of the state government held a meeting with the authorities of private hospitals in and around Calcutta on Monday evening.

“We want the private hospitals to increase Covid beds by 20 per cent more than what they had in October last year when the pandemic had reached its peak during the first wave,” said a source, adding that the focus was on Calcutta and its surroundings where majority of the cases were detected.

Mamata said there was a scarcity of vaccines and essential medicines and she had written letters to the Prime Minister requesting him to look into the issues.

Sources in the state administration said the chief minister was trying to step up the infrastructure to deal with the second wave of the pandemic and simultaneously, she was trying to ensure that panic didn’t set in.

“She is aware that if panic sets in, it would affect the local economy, which is yet to come out of the ill-effect of the lockdown. If the local economy is affected once again, it would spell a disaster. So, she is trying to deal with the situation by enhancing treatment facilities,” said a source.

As a part of enhancing the facilities, the government has engaged all senior IAS officers in the effort and they have been given responsibilities of one district each. They will help the district authorities to take proper steps and at the same time, they would act as a bridge between Nabanna and the districts.

After governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had sought a report on Covid-19 situation in the state, chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay met him and briefed him on the steps the state had initiated to contain the spread of the disease.

The state government has also decided to increase beds at safe homes in Calcutta considering the fact that cases were rising alarmingly in the city.

“Uttirno, an open air stadium in Alipore would be converted into a 500-bed safe home for Covid patients. Similarly, there will be a 200-bed Covid safe home in Gitanjali stadium. We are looking for some more facilities where safe homes would be set up,” said an official.