Centre Firm To Help Bengal Fight Covid: Health Minister To Mamata Banerjee

Harsh Vardhan congratulated Ms Banerjee for her victory in the recently held assembly elections and also asked her to focus on conducting more tests to detect infections in the state.

With West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking a uniform vaccination policy for the country, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday assured her that the Modi government was firm in its resolve to help the state fight the COVID-19 pandemic, but also flagged more than 40 per cent positivity rate in some districts of the state. In a four-page letter addressed to her and posted on his Twitter timeline, Mr Vardhan congratulated Ms Banerjee for her victory in the recently held assembly elections and also asked her to focus on conducting more tests to detect infections in the state. Referring to her letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on "further requirements for COVID-19 management in West Bengal", the minister said the Centre has been supporting each and every state "not just financially, but also through requisite diagnostics, therapeutics, medical devices and other essential materials and services". He further flagged a high positivity rate of over 40 per cent in some districts of West Bengal and asserted that testing needed to be significantly ramped up.