Insta
West Bengal: Mamata Govt Not Sending Enough Samples To Test, Says ICMR’s Nodal COVID-19 Lab Director
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
In a serious development, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)'s nodal testing facility in Kolkata has claimed that the West Bengal Government is not sending it enough samples for COVID-19 testing, reports India Today.
Serving as ICMR's nodal testing facility in Kolkata, the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) has shared that last week, it received lesser than 20 samples per day. The matter was made public by Director of NICED, Dr Shanta Dutta.
Dr Dutta added, "Number of samples being sent is determined by the State Government, so if they send more samples, we are able to test more. I think sample collection has not been as per the recommendation. So, the number of tests being done in Bengal is also less."
Furthermore, responding to Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee's complaint about lack of testing kits in the State, Dr Dutta shared that NICED has received a total of 42,500 testing kits so far, of which 27,000 excess kits remain in NICED's stock, while many kits have also been dispatched to State of Odisha and Port Blair.
Dr Dutta also revealed that NICED has given 7,500 testing kits to the State Government so far, while the State Government had only conducted a total of 2,523 tests till 12 April.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
