West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has appealed to the people of the state to follow all coronavirus disease (Covid-19) related safety protocols after the recent spike in the number of infections since the start of the festive season.
Chief minister Banerjee requested people to wear the mask properly, covering the nose to prevent being infected.
“Please wear the mask properly. The number of Covid cases registered a spike after Durga Puja. Hence, you must follow the Covid safety precautions, do not keep the mask hanging from your chin,” she said at a meeting on Sunday.
Ahead of the upcoming festivities in West Bengal–Kali Puja, Diwali, Chhat Puja–Banerjee also urged people to observe all virus safety norms.
The daily Covid-19 tally in West Bengal crossed the 900-mark for a second consecutive day on Sunday as 989 cases were reported, which pushed the state’s caseload to 1,586,455. On Saturday, 974 people were detected as Covid-19 positive while 846 cases were reported on Friday.
The number of deaths in Bengal is nearing the 20,000-mark while 1,559,518 patients have been recovered so far. The active cases are also on a high at 7,882.
Kolkata, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly are some of the worst-hit areas in the state.
During the Durga Puja festival which ended on October 15, people in large numbers were seen visiting pandals which experts said might have contributed to the recent surge in infections.
A total of 18,928,189 samples have been tested for Covid-19 so far. On the vaccination front, authorities have administered 71,803,863 doses to beneficiaries of which 52,173,222 have received the first dose and the remaining 19,630,641 are fully inoculated.