Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday allayed concerns about the rise in Covid infections and said there was no reason to panic yet.

Later in the evening, it emerged that a 48-year-old resident of Madhab Das Lane near the Khanna crossing, Babulal Singha, who had tested positive for Covid, died at Beleghata ID Hospital on Thursday.

A state government official said the death certificate said “Covid-19 pneumonia with septic shock” was the cause of death.

It was not immediately clear whether he had any comorbidities.

The Covid dashboard of the Union ministry of health still showed one death from Covid in Bengal this year. A 43-year-old woman from Howrah, who tested positive for Covid, died at Calcutta Medical Research Institute last week.

Addressing a news conference at state secretariat Nabanna on Monday afternoon, Mamata asked the head of SSKM Hospital’s infectious disease department, who was present, to speak about the current surge. Yogiraj Ray said the current infections were mostly from a sub-type of the Omicron variant, which was not severe.

“The WHO has not yet evaluated this sub-type as a variant of concern that can cause havoc,” he said.

Mamata chaired a meeting at Nabanna with doctors, officials from the health department and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and police.

It was the first time Mamata spoke about the recent Covid surge.

“We held this meeting to be prepared. We are hoping there will not be another pandemic. But we should be alert... Those with comorbidities and lung, heart or chest problems should be alert. Age, too, is a factor,” she said.

“There is no reason for panic or fear. Go to a doctor. Try to go to a government hospital,” she said. “Anyone who needs care will get it at government hospitals.”