9-member cell in West Bengal to collate COVID-19 statistics, detect patterns and identify clusters

Artists paint graffiti on a road to raise awareness about the COVID-19 during nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic, in Kolkata. (Representative image/PTI Photo)

The West Bengal government on Thursday formed a nine-member data analysis cell, which will collect and collate COVID-19 statistics from across the state, and examine them to detect patterns and identify hotspots, a health department official said.

According to an order issued by the department on Thursday, the cell will gather real-time information from all districts and use data analytics tools to make predictions on possible clusters in the state.

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The members would also provide policy inputs to the state government from time to time.

The West Bengal government has so far earmarked eight coronavirus hotspots in the state.

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The cell will determine the vulnerable zones of COVID-19 infection, if any, and advise whether random testing should be carried out in those areas, the official added.

So far, 104 people have tested positive for novel coronavirus in West Bengal. Of them, five have died, and 19 recovered from the disease.