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KOLKATA: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) health department, struggling to protect its frontline Covid warriors from the infection, received another jolt on Sunday after the chief municipal health officer (CMHO), Soumitra Ghosh, tested positive for the virus.
Health department officials stationed at KMC headquarters have been asked to work from home from Monday. They have also been directed to undergo Covid tests on Friday and report to work only if they are found negative. Also, sanitisation of all offices of health officials will be carried out on Tuesday and Friday.
According to sources in the civic body, Ghosh underwent a rapid antigen test on Sunday and was tested positive. However, the civic body’s Covid-response team has collected his swab and sent it to SSKM hospital for a confirmatory test (RT-PCR test). “Our CMHO has tested positive after a rapid antigen test. We have collected his swab samples and sent it to SSKM for an RT-PCR test. We are expecting the results on Monday,” a KMC health department senior official associated with the Covid-response team said on Sunday.
Besides Ghosh, a couple of executive health officers in charge of two boroughs that have been severely hit by Covid-19, recently tested positive and are now undergoing treatment, sources in the KMC health department confirmed.
However, CMHO getting tested positive for Covid-19 has serious ramifications for the entire health team, especially those associated with the planning to check spread of Covid, conceded another health department official. A KMC health department source conceded that the test result on Sunday has triggered panic among senior officials in the KMC headquarters as several deputy chief health officers and the health adviser have chambers very close to the CMHO’s room. This apart, Ghosh regularly held Covidmonitoring meetings and interacted with Firhad Hakim, the chairman of board of administrators, Atin Ghosh, the member of BOC (in charge of health department), municipal commissioner Binod Kumar and senior health officials.
According to a KMC source, all senior officials, who came in close contact with Ghosh in the past seven days will be asked to undergo Covid tests immediately. “We were regularly called by Ghosh to his chamber to discuss about the functioning of KMC Covid-response team. Even on Wednesday, Ghosh was present during a high-level meeting that was attended by Atin Ghosh and all senior officials at the headquarters,” said an official.
Health department officials stationed at KMC headquarters have been asked to work from home from Monday. They have also been directed to undergo Covid tests on Friday and report to work only if they are found negative. Also, sanitisation of all offices of health officials will be carried out on Tuesday and Friday.
According to sources in the civic body, Ghosh underwent a rapid antigen test on Sunday and was tested positive. However, the civic body’s Covid-response team has collected his swab and sent it to SSKM hospital for a confirmatory test (RT-PCR test). “Our CMHO has tested positive after a rapid antigen test. We have collected his swab samples and sent it to SSKM for an RT-PCR test. We are expecting the results on Monday,” a KMC health department senior official associated with the Covid-response team said on Sunday.
Besides Ghosh, a couple of executive health officers in charge of two boroughs that have been severely hit by Covid-19, recently tested positive and are now undergoing treatment, sources in the KMC health department confirmed.
However, CMHO getting tested positive for Covid-19 has serious ramifications for the entire health team, especially those associated with the planning to check spread of Covid, conceded another health department official. A KMC health department source conceded that the test result on Sunday has triggered panic among senior officials in the KMC headquarters as several deputy chief health officers and the health adviser have chambers very close to the CMHO’s room. This apart, Ghosh regularly held Covidmonitoring meetings and interacted with Firhad Hakim, the chairman of board of administrators, Atin Ghosh, the member of BOC (in charge of health department), municipal commissioner Binod Kumar and senior health officials.
According to a KMC source, all senior officials, who came in close contact with Ghosh in the past seven days will be asked to undergo Covid tests immediately. “We were regularly called by Ghosh to his chamber to discuss about the functioning of KMC Covid-response team. Even on Wednesday, Ghosh was present during a high-level meeting that was attended by Atin Ghosh and all senior officials at the headquarters,” said an official.
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