Govt urges district, sub-divisional hospitals to open isolation wards
Kolkata: With the number of positive cases of COVID-19 going up in the country, the state Health department has instructed all the district and sub-divisional hospitals to open an isolation ward.
The department has also alerted the doctors, nursing staff members and paramedical staff and they have been asked to remain cautious. Training may be provided to the paramedical staff on how to combat the situation.
The department has already set up a health camp at the Kolkata Airport so that screening of the suspected passengers can be conducted smoothly. It has also tightened vigil at all the important places including the two airports in the state and also at the Indo-Bangladesh borders, so that people coming from different parts of the world with suspected symptoms are properly screened.
The department has been taking various measures and also examining the preparedness of the hospitals, after nearly 28 persons including some foreign nationals were found to be affected with Coronavirus.
A senior Health department official said that there is nothing to worry about and not a single case has been reported so far in the state. The official also urged the people not to spread panic.
The city doctors have cautioned people to be alert while visiting the possible areas which get exposed to frequent visits by foreigners. If any person is found to be affected with the suspected symptoms, he/she should be quarantined for around 14 days.
The people who visit the spots of exposure should wear gloves on their hands and masks around his/her face to avoid the infection. If anybody complains about respiratory distress and vomiting, they must immediately consult a physician.
Meanwhile, the Calcutta University may impose some restriction on its research fellows going abroad. Rabindra Bharati University, which has a considerable number of students from abroad, may also conduct a meeting to take some preventive measures. According to the Health department, over 1 lakh people coming to the state from abroad have already been screened so far, but none of them have been tested positive.
More than 38,000 people have undergone screening at Kolkata and Bagdogra Airport, while around 70,000 people have been screened at the international borders in the state.
The Beliaghata ID Hospital and North Bengal Medical College and Hospital opened isolation wards following the instruction of the state Health department.
Many suspected patients have undergone screening, but none have tested positive so far. Some other medical colleges in the city have also thrown open isolation wards in the wake of corona scare.
