West Bengal govt replaces Health Secretary amid row over coronavirus COVID-19 data

Kolkata: The West Bengal government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (May 12, 2020) transferred Health Secretary Vivek Kumar to the Environment Department and named Narayan Swaroop Nigam as his replacement.

Kumar's transfer to the Environment Department as secretary comes days after a row over the state's COVID-19 data, said official sources.

Nigam, who was the Transport Secretary, has been appointed as Kumar's replacement, as per a notification issued by the state government dated May 11.

West Bengal has so far reported 118 deaths due to coronavirus infection.

The state has attributed 72 other deaths to comorbidities -- cases where COVID-19 was incidental.
The state has reported 1,939 COVID-19 cases till Monday and of them, 1,374 are active. 

PTI