With Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee out in Delhi State ministers and senior officials on Wednesday preferred to maintain a studied silence on the Centre’s letter asking the State Government to augment weekly corona tests in view of the increasing number of cases in many parts of the world.
“A letter has come from Delhi and a decision would be taken at an appropriate time,” a senior official of the State Health Department said adding the State Government had been following guidelines given by the Centre from time to time.
A Minister on the other hand said Bengal was one of the pioneer states in maintaining steady vaccination record despite non-cooperation from the Centre adding New Delhi had “no right to lecture the States without itself doing nothing on the issue.”
Earlier, the Centre wrote letters to thirteen states including Bengal expressing its concern over the decline in the number weekly testing for corona virus.
A letter from the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that there should be high testing rates considering the fact that international traveling had increased in the recent weeks.
“A decrease in testing would undermine the actual infection spread within the community,” the letter said.
Pointing out to the fact that many other countries were “seeing multiple surges in Covid cases …” the letter reminded how a few developed countries were facing even fourth and fifth waves despite high levels of vaccination suggesting there was need for continued vigil.