A central team on Thursday visited a quarantine centre in Rajarhat area in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district and a hospital in the city to take stock of the state's preparedness to combat the COVID-19 crisis, an official said.
Two inter-ministerial central teams are in West Bengal to assess the preparedness of the state in tackling the coronavirus outbreak.
The team which is in Kolkata on Wednesday sought a detailed presentation from the West Bengal government on whether the level of testing in the state is adequate and enough oxygen, ICU beds and ventilators are available.
This team, led by Apurba Chandra, a senior bureaucrat in the Ministry of Defence, visited the quarantine centre in Rajarhat and spent nearly an hour, the official said.
Later in the afternoon, the team went to M R Bangur Hospital, where several COVID-19 patients are undergoing treatment.
"Both at the quarantine centre and at the hospital, the central team spoke to doctors and officials and took note of the details. They also enquired about the problems, if any, that the health staff are facing," a senior official said.
The second central team in North Bengal, however, is yet to begin its field visits, the official said.
The team at North Bengal, led by Vineet Joshi, a senior official of HRD ministry, met health officials, including the Jalpaiguri district's chief medical officer (CMOH), and took stock of the situation.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier slammed the Centre for sending teams to look into West Bengal's preparedness for tackling the COVID-19 outbreak and alleged that faulty testing kits were dispatched to the state.
There has been a war of words between the West Bengal and the Union governments over the arrival of two central teams in the state to assess the coronavirus situation.
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