The steep spike in Covid cases has prompted the Bengal government to set a July 31 deadline for health department officials across the state to administer due second doses of vaccines.

Sources said district health officials had been asked to prepare lists of those whose Covid vaccine second dose is overdue and visit their homes and request them to get inoculated then and there.

“Health officials will prepare a list of defaulters in their respective districts and visit the homes of these people to administer the second dose. The July 31 deadline is applicable for all districts,” said a senior health department official in Calcutta.

Bengal on Friday reported 657 new Covid-19 infections, 195 recoveries and two deaths. The number of fresh cases was 745 on Thursday, a steep rise from the 295 new cases reported the day before. The positivity rate shot up from 4.85 per cent to 7.30 per cent in one day and stood at 7.04 per cent on Friday.

Currently, there are 3,480 active cases in the state with 3,369 people in home isolation and 111 in hospitals, according to the state bulletin.

Bengal’s recovery rate declined to 98.78 per cent and mortality stayed at 1.05 per cent on Friday, when 9,327 samples were tested.

Bengal has so far vaccinated 6.70 crore with the first dose and 6.01 crore with the second dose. Around 70 lakh people across the state are due to get their second jab. A health official said around 24 lakh precaution or booster doses were due.

The districts have conducted multiple meetings with health officials posted in remote areas to meet the vaccination deadline.

“We are trying to follow the directive, which is of utmost importance. But the ground reality is that many people are trying to skip vaccination,” said a health official in Birbhum. Sources in the health department said this was the first time a directive had been issued to finish pending vaccinations. However, officials in the districts said people were not showing much interest in getting vaccinated.

Health officials said it had become a challenge for them to complete the vaccination process swiftly as Covid at a time cases were rising steeply across the country.

The officials, however, said the numbers of cases detected were showing an upward trend as more people were being tested against the backdrop of the rising cases in the country.

“We conducted 10,205 tests on Thursday, a figure that was only 6,078 on Wednesday. On Friday, we tested 9,327 samples across Bengal. So, it is clear why the numbers are increasing. All hospitals and health units in the state have also been asked to increase testing as much as they can,” said a health official.

District officials, however, said many people displaying symptoms were not seeking tests.

“During the previous waves when cases were being reported in thousands, people used to come to get tested at the slightest hint of symptoms. Now, hardly anybody is turning up at the testing units even when they are experiencing Covid-like symptoms,” said a health official in East Burdwan.

Sources in the state government said during a meeting of senior health officials in Calcutta on Thursday, the issue of people shunning masks came up.

A senior health official pointed out that over the past few months the practice of wearing masks has been on the wane. To address the problem, officials are planning to make wearing of masks mandatory at crowded places like railway and Metro stations, hospitals and public gatherings.

Other Covid protocols are also being flouted in most districts, including Calcutta, the officials said.

“In the meeting, the issue of non-maskers was discussed. Some officials favoured imposing a token fine on those not wearing masks at crowded places,” said an official.