Fresh COVID cases disrupts New Year festivities in Kolkata – The Hindu

Kolkata News

West Bengal and its capital Kolkata are witnessing an almost-overnight explosion in the number of COVID-19 cases, with the cheer that had gripped the city only about 10 days ago now giving way to caution. The State government is expected to soon release a fresh set of guidelines aimed at combating the surge.

On Friday, figures released by the Health Department showed the State recording 2,128 cases COVID-19 cases on a single day, with Kolkata alone accounting for 1,090 of them. Barely 10 days ago, it was a different picture, when the City of Joy seemed set to return to the pre-pandemic days. On December 21, for example, the whole of West Bengal had reported 440 new cases, with Kolkata accounting for 177 of them. By December 28, these figures had climbed to 752 and 382 respectively, and now the count is once again in four figures.

“The situation is getting bad. Cases are skyrocketing. Phone calls are already coming from friends and relatives who had been through COVID-19 before and who are getting infected again. Hospital beds are once again in demand. The need of the hour was to restrict mass congregations and cancel celebrations, [but that not happening] is going to hamper whatever little chances we had to containing the spread of the infection,” well-known ENT specialist Dr. Arjun Dasgupta told The Hindu.

Many popular clubs in the city have called off New Year celebrations, and police are seeking to prevent mass gatherings, including on Park Street, where thousands had congregated during the days before and after Christmas. The surge comes at a time when schools and colleges across West Bengal had reopened and when winter fairs and festivals had returned to Kolkata after a gap of two years, lending an air of normalcy to daily life. Now the city appears to be returning to the unhappy period of cancellations — not only have the New Year festivities been called off at many popular venues but even the opening ceremony of the Kolkata International Film Festival, scheduled to be held at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, has reportedly been shifted to the State Secretariat in Howrah.

Uncertainly also clouds the much-awaited Kolkata Book Fair, which could not be held in 2021 and which, as of now, is scheduled to be held from January 31 to February 13 in the new year.

“We are preparing for the fair, but are awaiting instructions from the Government,” Tridib Chatterjee, honorary general secretary of Publishers & Booksellers Guild, which organises the fair, told The Hindu.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/fresh-covid-cases-disrupts-new-year-festivities-in-kolkata/article38081658.ece