Kolkata: State Health department has strengthened its surveillance and also taken up a number of steps to check the spread of the transmission of COVID-19 among the staff members at Swasthay Bhawan.
Senior health department officials are concerned after many employees at Swasthya Bhavan including some officers had been infected with the virus. The health services in the state may be affected if the number of infections goes up at Swasthya Bhavan. To check the spread of infection, the health officials imposed some restrictions on the usage of the centralized air conditioning system of the Swasthya Bhavan. The health officials apprehend that the central Ac system may help the virus to thrive. Various branches and offices within the Swasthya Bhavan campus have been asked to ensure that the employees should not sit together and minimum physical distancing must be maintained. Employees entering Swasthya Bhavan have to undergo thermal scanning and sanitization.
Employees at Swasthya Sathi building were found positive and the later infection spread to the main building. Contract tracing cell I had witnessed a number of infections. The contract tracing cell I comprises of 15 members out of which 11 have been affected with COVID. This had an adverse impact on health services as well as the contract tracing cell I used to track the Covid patients and the persons who have come in close contact with the infected patients.
Massive sanitization works are being conducted at all the buildings including Swasthya Sathi building, institute building, main building and others from time to time to check the further spread of the virus. According to sources more than 20 persons at Swasthya Bhavan including some officers have been infected with the virus so far. The health officials are not taking any risk in the present situation. The department has also been carrying out rapid antigen tests among the employees at the Swasthya Bhavan to find out if any of its staff members had any suspected symptoms.
A rapid antigen test gives an idea if the patient is positive with the virus. Once a patient comes out to be positive, he/she then undergoes RT-PCR other tests.