– Mita Mukherjee

Amid the threat of a possible third wave of the pandemic looming large, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asked concerned officials of the state to review the present Covid-19 situation in Bengal and said schools, colleges and universities might be shut down again if the situation so demands.

Addressing an administrative review meeting at Sagar Islands in South 24 Parganas, the chief minister said: “Covid-19 cases are rising in the entire country… A few Omicron cases have also been reported. We have to see whether Coronavirus infections are rising in the schools. We need to see if schools and colleges can be kept open in this situation. So review the situation in the state. We may consider closing down schools for some time if it is needed. The same decision can be taken for colleges and other educational institutions,” Banerjee told H.K. Dwivedi, state chief secretary at the meeting.

She also urged the people of the state to follow the Covid-19 protocol to prevent a rise in the number of new infections.

Educational institutions in Bengal had reopened on November 16 for offline classes after the campuses remained closed for over 20 months.

The schools had resumed offline classes for students of Grade IX to XII from November 16. 

Banerjee is at Sagar Island to take stock of the arrangements for holding the annual Gangasagar Mela.

West Bengal has reported 11 cases of Omicron variant of Coronavirus so far. The state on Tuesday had reported 752 new infections, up from 439 on Monday. The chief minister today also asked the officials to start identifying the containment zones in Kolkata where the numbers of new infections are higher in other districts. 

Mamata today also said that offices might be asked to function with 50 percent employee attendance if required. 

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