Safe Houses to treat asymptomatic or patients with mild Covid-19

Darjeeling: Safe Houses will be started in North Bengal to treat asymptomatic or patients with mild Covid symptoms. This will help keep beds free in Covid-19 hospitals for symptomatic patients.

Dr Sushanto Rai, Officer on Special Duty overseeing Covid treatment in North Bengal called a meeting at the Uttar Kanya, the mini

Secretariat near Siliguri on Saturday. The meeting was attended by Government representatives including North Bengal Development Department Minister Rabindranath Ghosh, district administration and private health players was on satellite health facilities for asymptomatic or mild cases.

"Based on the Malda model, the Government has come up with a new system in the State. Under this system asymptomatic or patients with mild symptoms will be treated in safe houses. Around 90 to 92 per cent cases are asymptomatic. They are cured with minimum treatment. However, we cannot keep them with symptomatic cases. If they are kept together there are chances of the asymptomatic patients becoming highly symptomatic. Hence they will be treated in safe houses. The beds in

Covid-19 hospitals can be kept free for patients who are symptomatic. In this way hospitals will not be over crowded," added Dr Rai.

He stated that the condition of North Bengal is much better than many other places. "There are 1,0317 beds for the treatment of Covid-19 patients in the state of West Bengal. Out of this 8000 are still vacant" added Dr. Rai. Three such safe houses to come up in the district.

The OSD met representatives of private nursing homes and requested them to start private Covid-19 treatment facilities. "It had to be on a no profit system. We have handed over a list of criterias for this. Entrance and exits to the Covid-19 wards will have to be separate" added the OSD.

The Doctor stressed on.the need for ending stigmatization. "We have been getting a lot of complaints regarding private facilities and doctors turning away patients. We discussed this issue in length. they were apprehensive and stated that once they treated patients with cough, cold or fever, they were not being allowed to return home and we're being stigmatised. "People should realise that everyone should cooperate in such times. We will soon hold a meeting with residential

societies to sensitize them and create awareness," added the OSD.