56% people testing Covid +ve in Bengal migrant workers: Official

June 17, 2020 16:44

At least 56 per cent of the people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in West Bengal are migrant workers who returned from other states, a senior official of the state health department said on Wednesday. According to him, 10 out of every 100 migrant workers examined have tested positive for COVID-19 but most of them are asymptomatic.

"Around 56 per cent of the people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state are migrant workers, according to the data we have received from the districts. But what is crucial is that most of them are asymptomatic and this is making the current situation quite difficult," the official said. Over 6.60 lakh migrant workers have returned to West Bengal from different states by Shramik Special trains while several lakhs have come back by road.

"Districts like Purulia, Birbhum, Coochbehar, Bankura, Dakshin and Uttar Dinajpur were green zones until the migrant workers started returning, after which the number of positive cases went up in those areas," the official said. Most of these people, who have tested positive for the disease, have returned from states with a high number of coronavirus cases such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. -- PTI

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