Kolkata: The state Health department has urged various private hospitals in the city to be alert and combat any possible situation which may arise following the Novel Corona Virus (nCoV) threat.
Following the instruction from the Health department, various government-run hospitals in the state have already taken precautionary measures and opened isolation wards.
After nCoV claimed several lives in China, people across the state have become scared. Some people who had returned to the city from China in the recent past complained of similar symptoms and were admitted to Beliaghata ID Hospital. However, eventually all of them tested negative and were released from the hospital.
With the growing level of tension among the people across the state over the disease, the Health department also asked the private hospitals to be on alert.
Directives have been issued to the private hospital authorities, requesting them to put up an infrastructure so that patients with similar symptoms can be treated in those hospitals.
Till now, most of the patients with suspected symptoms have been taken to the Beliaghata ID Hospital for treatment.
"Various private hospitals in the city have been alerted and asked to be prepared so that they can admit patients complaining of similar symptoms. The situation in the state is absolutely normal, with none reported positive so far. Various government-run hospitals are fully prepared to handle any emergency," a Health department official said.
It may be mentioned here that more than nine persons were taken to the Beliaghata ID Hospital in the past couple of weeks, after they came from China.
Their swab samples were sent to the laboratory and the reports confirmed that none of them was found to be affected with the disease. The hospitals have been asked to report if a patient gets admitted with any similar symptom.
"The people are often affected with viral fever during the change of the season and due to fluctuating temperature. If someone is affected with fever, cough and cold, don't get panicked as no trace of nCoV has been found in the state so far. Go to a local doctor without wasting any time, if someone is affected with fever," the health official said.
In the wake of the nCoV scare, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also urged the private hospitals to make necessary arrangements in this regard.