Twelve people test positive for Covid-19 in Puducherry
Puducherry, May 20 (PTI): Twelve people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Puducherry, a top official of the Department of Health and Family Welfare Services said on Tuesday.
V Ravichandran, Director of Health and Family Welfare Services, in a press release, said the department had been screening individuals with cough and cold symptoms as per instructions from the Union Health Ministry.
Over the past week, 12 people have tested positive, it added.
Urging the public not to panic, Ravichandran said the Health Department was fully prepared to handle any emergency.
Four beds have been earmarked for Covid-19 patients at the Government General Hospital, Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute in Kadirkamam, and Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital for Children.
A six-bed ward with ventilator and oxygen support has also been set up at the Government Hospital for Chest Diseases in Gorimedu, he said.
The Health Department is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in New Delhi.
The department has also reviewed data on respiratory infections, including the common cold, Influenza-like Illness (ILI), and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI).
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Mamata asks TMC nominees not to leave counting centres as EC data shows BJP leading
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged TMC candidates and agents to remain vigilant and not to leave counting centres, alleging that there was a "game plan" by the BJP and the Election Commission to show the saffron party taking a lead in the early trends of counting.
In a video message issued during the counting of votes, the TMC supremo appealed to party workers to stay put and not to lose morale.
"I appeal to everyone that neither TMC candidates nor counting agents should abandon counting centres," she said.
As trends on the Election Commission website indicated the BJP leading in 188 seats against the TMC's 94, Banerjee maintained that her party was still ahead in a significant number of constituencies.
"We are still ahead in 170 seats, but I request everyone not to lose hope," she said, adding that there were "around 70 to 100 seats where we are leading, but they are not sharing the data of those seats".
"A false narrative is being spread," she alleged.
The chief minister accused the Election Commission of "not declaring results or leads" in areas where the TMC was ahead.
"This is a game plan by the EC and the BJP as it (poll panel) is not declaring results or leads in areas where we are leading," she said.
Banerjee also alleged irregularities in the counting process at some locations.
"In several places, counting has been stopped after the first two to three rounds. In Kalyani, we have caught seven machines with severe anomalies," she claimed.
She further alleged that TMC workers were being "harassed with the help of central forces" and that party offices were being "vandalised and forcefully captured".
"With the help of central forces, they are harassing and torturing AITC workers. Our offices have been vandalised," she said, also alleging that voter list revision exercises were "purposefully done to target seats where we were strong".
Seeking to reassure party workers, Banerjee said more rounds of counting were yet to take place and urged them to stay firm.
"Fourteen to eighteen rounds of counting will happen. You will surely emerge victorious. Don't be afraid; fight like tigers," she said.
Her remarks came as counting trends suggested that the BJP was leading in 188 seats and had crossed the halfway mark of 148 in the 294-member assembly, pointing to a potential shift in the state's political landscape.
Counting for 293 constituencies was underway with postal ballots, followed by EVM votes.
Officials cautioned that trends could change as more rounds are counted, and final results would be known later in the day.
জরুরি বার্তা pic.twitter.com/Uc82oihwEL
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 4, 2026
