No question of lockdown now in Bengal: Mamata Banerjee amid Covid-19 spike

"There is no question of lockdown. Lockdown only destroys business. I would appeal to people to wear masks and take safety precautions," the Chief Minister said in Malda, taking time out from her busy election schedule.

The Prime Minister in his address to the nation on Tuesday urged the states to consider lockdown as the last resort to tackle the virus, which is spreading faster than the rate at which people were getting infected in 2020.

Moreover, Banerjee said her state has administered 93 lakh Covid-19 vaccine shots in total so far.

The Chief Minister said her government is making a fund of Rs. 100 crore to vaccinate more people.

"We have so far administered 93 lakh vaccine shots in total. We are creating a fund of Rs. 100 crore to further vaccinate people," she said at a press conference.

Meanwhile, Banerjee has questioned the difference in prices at which Serum Institute of India (SII) has decided to sell its vaccines, Covishield, to the states, private hospitals and the central government.

The SII, which has produced the vaccine developed by Oxford University in India, will continue to sell Covishield to the central government at Rs. 150 per dose while to the states and private hospitals at Rs. 400 and Rs. 600 per dose respectively.

"Why would there be a difference in price? It is not the time to do business but to show humanity," Banerjee said.

The Chief Minister said her government was focussing on increasing the hospital beds at a time the poor health infrastructure is getting overwhelmed by the exponential rise in positive cases.

She has also advised people with serious conditions to get admitted to hospital and patients with minor symptoms to stay in safe homes for isolation.

Earlier in the day during election campaigning, Banerjee, who heads the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), lashed out at Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), that rules the Centre, for allegedly spreading the virus in the state by bringing in huge people from other states.

"This (Covid-19) is not a man-made disaster. This is a Modi-made disaster," Banerjee said and added, "I have been saying for a long time that outsiders are coming to the state and spreading Covid-19."

West Bengal is going through an unprecedented long assembly election in eight phases with the last three due to be held between Apr 22 and 29.

While Banerjee has cancelled her rallies in Kolkata except one on Apr 26, by and large all political parties are carrying on with their campaigns drawing sharp reactions from people on social media.

People have been calling for the cancellation of the rallies, which are attracting hundreds and thousands of people, running the risk of infecting more people.