In Kolkata, mood turns sombre as COVID-19 cases mount dramatically
The Hindu
Almost everybody in city now has a friend or relative who has tested positive
If humour is a reflection of the times and seeks to make light of the prevailing challenges, then two WhatsApp forwards currently in circulation aptly sum up the COVID-19 situation in West Bengal and its capital Kolkata. One of them says, “If you are from Kolkata and none of your friends are COVID positive yet, then you don’t have friends.” And according to the other, Bengal is currently divided into two people: those who have tested positive, and those who have not tested and are negative.
The mood in Kolkata, from being extraordinarily festive during Christmas, is now suddenly sombre, with roads and offices and public places appearing deserted. The pandemic, it is feared, will further tighten its grip on the State and, by extension, the rest of the country, by the time the to be held in Sagar island from January 8 to 16, comes to a close. On Friday, the Calcutta High Court permitted the government to hold the annual mela, which attracts lakhs of pilgrims from across India.
Almost everybody in the city now has a friend or relative who has tested positive. Those positive are curious to know whether they are infected by the Omicron or Delta variant, but there’s no way of knowing. To compound matters, several labs in the city are now — apparently according to latest ICMR guidelines — placing those with a CT value of less than 35 in the RTPCR test as COVID-positive.