If the humor is a reflection of the times and seeks to shed light on the current challenges, the two WhatsApp forwards currently in circulation aptly link 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 have no friends.” And according to the second, Bengal is currently divided into two people: those who have tested positive, and those who have not tested and are negative.
From being extraordinarily festive during Christmas, the mood in Kolkata is now suddenly gloomy, with streets and offices and public places looking deserted. It is feared that the pandemic will further tighten its grip on the state and, by extension, the rest of the country. Ganga Sagar Fair, The event to be held in Sagar Island from January 8 to January 16 has ended. On Friday, the Calcutta High Court allowed the government to organize an annual fair, which draws lakhs of pilgrims from across India.
Almost everyone in the city now has a friend or relative who has tested positive. They are curious to know if they are infected with the Omicron or Delta variant, but have no way of knowing. For compound cases, several laboratories in the city are now – apparently as per the latest ICMR guidelines – to RTPCR test people with a Ct value of less than 35 as COVID positive.
“In Bengal, the number of new cases on Thursday stood at 15,421, active patients were 41,101, but Omicron infected only 20. Similarly, in the country, the number of new cases was 90,928, the number of active patients was 2,84,155, but only 2,630 were infected by Omicron. From this data, can we include Omicron as the prime mover behind the third wave – or Delta? Or is it fluorona – flu and corona? Or any other version? What are we missing?” asked Dr. Kaushik Lahiri, the city’s renowned dermatologist.
Writer Rajeshwari Mitra said, “This time I know about the entire families who are infected. Thankfully, the severity of the disease is less visible as most of the affected recover in two to three days. It also happens to be the season of cough and cold, and that is only adding to the confusion. I think it’s important for someone to get tested. ,
Anupama Maitra, who teaches English at a college and lives on the southern edge of the city, said the number of active cases in her housing complex – which includes 1,250 flats – was 45 on Friday and was rising by 10-15 per day. On Thursday, her 15-year-old daughter received her first dose of the vaccine at her school.
“We reached the school as per the time slot given to us. Our temperature was checked at the gate and sanitiser was sprayed on our clothes and shoes. My daughter was taken inside while I waited on the school lawn with adequate seating arrangement. She was given a Covaxin shot and told to wait for half an hour. She came out after 30 minutes and we came home. It was very smooth and efficiently managed,” she said.
‘No reason to panic’
Despite the increase in the number of daily cases, internal medicine specialist Dr. Rahul Jain, who barely had time for his meals during the second wave, said there is nothing to panic at the moment. “The COVID graph has gone like an unbridled bull in the stock market. But the cases are mostly mild, with some needing oxygen supplementation. The number of ICU admissions is also less. But yes, the number of health workers getting infected is worrying. If nurses and doctors fall ill then it will be difficult to handle the patients.
“Hopefully, COVID-19 will get milder with every subsequent mutation and wave. The immune system will be prepared with the hybrid immunity provided by repeated infection and vaccination,” he said.
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