The Kalimpong district administration has included six-gram panchayats (GP) on ‘high risk’ and ‘risk’ zones to contain the spread of Covid19 infection. The administration said it has focused on active surveillance and implementing the Covid-19 protocol.

The district has recently recorded one case of Delta variant of the coronavirus. An order issued by the Kalimpong district magistrate, Vimala Ranganathan, the six GPs–Aahaley, Dalim and Gorubathan-I under the Gorubatahn block, Bhalukhop, Tista (KalimpongI block) and Santook under Kalimpong-II block–had been categorised as ‘high risk’ and ‘risk’ zones.

“Around one or two Covid19 cases are reported daily from those areas and the number of active cases is 15 there when the situation in other areas is under control. That is why those six GPs have been categorised as high-risk zones and risk zones with a special focus,” said a senior administrative official.

The district, which shares its border with Sikkim, has made it mandatory for all people entering the district from the neighbouring state to produce either a Covid-19 negative RT-PCR test report or a double vaccination certificate after the Himalayan state reported at least 97 cases of the Delta variant. The Darjeeling district administration has also imposed restrictions on the entry of people from Sikkim.

Today’s order underlined that block development officers with active cooperation of the block medical officers of health and police officers “shall ensure extensive miking and surveillance with dedicated teams on adherence to strict COVID-19 protocol…”

Meanwhile, public health experts have stressed on maintaining Covid- appropriate behaviour amid confirmation of the Delta and UK variants of the coronavirus in North Bengal. They believe that the police and the administration should ensure stricter measures to enforce the Covid protocol. Fourteen persons were infected with the Delta strain, and three with the UK strain recently. As many as 14 Covidpositive samples in north Bengal had been sent for genome sequencing, and it was then found that they were of the two variants.

“Being an RNA virus, Covid-19 has the tendency to undergo rapid mutations. But whatever the variants emerge, Covid treatment is one. Since the first wave of Covid-19, we have cautioned people against any relaxation in Covid guidelines. There should not be any slackness in wearing masks, maintaining physical distance, and frequent washing of hands. We have initiated more focused and stringent measures to contain the virus spread,” said the officer on special duty for public health in north Bengal, Dr Susanta Kumar Roy.

Public health specialists said that irrespective of the variant in circulation, the response measures remain the same-early testing, treating, contact tracing, precautions and vaccination. According to the Superintendent of the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH), Dr Sanjay Mallik, 14 samples, which were confirmed to be that of the Delta and UK variants in north Bengal, were among the first lot of samples sent back on 21 May for genome sequencing. He added that they were not detected very recently.

The head of the department of microbiology at the NBMCH, Prof Arunava Sarkar, said they had sent the selected samples to the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics at Kalyani. The Delta variant, which is currently a ‘variant of concern’ leveled by the World Health Organisation, has spread fast through its high transmissibility.

“Studies have revealed that the Delta variant of SARS-COV-2 was behind a majority of clinical cases of breakthrough infection of Covid-19 during the second wave. Aggressive vaccination drive to reach out to the maximum populations can be an important strategy,” said a physician. He said there should also be strict compliance of the 9 pm to 5 am curfew enforced every night to contain the spread of Covid infections.