West Bengal government replaces health secretary days after row over state’s coronavirus data; confirmed cases climb to 2,063

Kolkata: The West Bengal government has transferred Health Secretary Vivek Kumar to the Environment Department and named Narayan Swaroop Nigam as his replacement, officials said on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_8263411” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AP[/caption] 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 dated 11 May. 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.