COVID-19: WB Bureaucrat's Son Who Avoided Isolation For 2 Days Tests Positive

Kolkata: A senior West Bengal bureaucrat's son who came into the country from London two days ago defied medical opinion advising isolation and moved freely before he was declared COVID-19 positive, according to media reports. The 18-year-old son of a senior West Bengal official is reportedly a student of Oxford University in the UK and instead of subjecting himself to quarantine, is said to have moved about with family and friends for two days before his test results confirmed him to be positive for coronavirus.

This is the first case reported from West Bengal and has put several question marks on the system. The young patient is said to have first refused to follow medical advice and get himself admitted in the nodal hospital. He is later reported to have gone to a second hospital where he interacted with a doctor and a healthcare professional. Once again, he was advised isolation.

Ignoring medical advice, the student reportedly went to several places including his mother's office at the state secretariat, the building which incidentally houses Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's office. He is also said to have visited a mall with his friends and an upscale social club in the city with his mother.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is reported to have slammed the patient and his family for their irresponsible conduct which has put others at risk. The West Bengal Chief Minister is reported to have frowned upon the VIP culture reflected in the case.

The COVID-19 pandemic is sweeping through most regions of the world including India, which has already seen a sharp rise in confirmed cases over the past 10 days. The total count of Coronavirus positive cases in the country now stands at 147.

Epidemiologists point out that the next two weeks will mark a critical phase in India's management of COVID-19, as also the trajectory that the pandemic would take.