A 48-year-old woman hailing from the small town of Chittaranjan in West Bengal has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and is currently admitted to a hospital in Kolkata.
The woman, believed to be a dresser at Chittaranjan's Kasturba Gandhi (KG) Hospital, has been admitted to BM Birla Hospital for treatment. The unfortunate development has created a panic like situation among the residents of the peaceful town, popularly known for the Chittaranjan Locomotive Works.
Authorities refuse to share details
At a time when swift action is required to ensure the well-being of the rest of the town, a Senior PRO of Chittaranjan Locomotive Works is trying to quell the matter. Reluctant to share any details, the PRO denied the first COVID-19 case of Chittaranjan.
However, speaking to International Business Times, India, Salanpur Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Bidhan Upadhyay said that the infected woman was first taken to KG Hospital owing to heart problems and was later referred to Kolkata.
MLA Upadhyay also said that he will be visiting Chittaranjan to take a call on what needs to be done. Whoever came in contact with the woman, will be quarantined, he said.
We also got in touch with Atindra Nath Dutta, SHO of Chittaranjan Police Station, who confirmed the news to us and said that they are yet to make a decision.
Woman's kids under home quarantine
The woman resides in a quarter adjacent to the Kasturba Gandhi Hospital in Chittaranjan with her husband and children.
The matter has been immediately reported to the concerned authorities in Chittaranjan and the woman's sons and daughter were quarantined in their quarter. Her husband is with her in Kolkata.
Creating further issues for the family, the neighbors demanded that the kids should be kept under institutional quarantine. The administration, however, did not comply with their unreasonable demand.
Meanwhile, the KG Hospital has been sanitized and the roads adjacent to the hospital have been blocked as of now, reported a local newspaper.
This is the first COVID-19 case to be reported from Chittaranjan, a town named after the great freedom fighter, leader and statesman Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das. With 193 more people testing positive for the deadly virus, West Bengal's coronavirus tally has gone past 4,000, including more than 200 deaths, Bengal Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay confirmed.
Currently, the state has 2,240 active cases of the China-originated virus while rest have recovered.
