JOIN USAsymptomatic Covid-19 patients becoming cause of concern in West Bengal
With a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in West Bengal, asymptomatic patients are fast becoming a cause of concern for the West Bengal government.
According to health officials, the majority of the beds in the three state-run Covid hospitals in Kolkata designated for the treatment of critical patients are occupied by asymptomatic patients.
They said that a large section of asymptomatic patients in Kolkata Medical College, Belaighata Infectious Diseases Hospital and M R Bangur Hospital are refusing to be treated from home or to be shifted to makeshift health facilities called ‘safe homes’. This is resulting in a shortage of beds.
“We planed to shift 59 of such patients to safe houses but only 16 have agreed to do so despite repeated assurances that doctors and nurses will be available at safe houses,” said the superintendent of M R Bangur Hospital Sishir Naskar. These patients are demanding that they either should be sent home after recovering or they wouldn only stay in the hospital.
According to sources in the Health Department, the situation has become such that nearly 80% of the patients admitted to Kolkata Medical College, Belaighata Infectious Diseases Hospital and M R Bangur Hospital are asymptomatic and can be treated from home or from safe houses.
They also said that excessive panic among a section of people over Covid-19 is aggravating the situation. Whenever the news of a person testing positive - even if the patient is asymptomatic - spreads in a neighborhood, a lot of people start demanding that he must be hospitalized fearing the spread of infection.
The situation is a bit different in the districts. Even as there are fewer cases there as compared to Kolkata, locals alleged that safe houses in North Bengal are not in a condition to function properly.
None of the six proposed safe homes in West Medinipur have started functioning. There is no occupancy in the three safe homes in Nadia district. The sole safe home is Murshidabad district is yet to have any patient. The situation is the same in one safe home in East Bardhaman and three safe homes in Bankura district.
As on Friday West Bengal has recorded 36,117 Covid-19 cases out of which 13679 are active. The death toll in the state stands at 1023.