Kolkata’s century old hospital transforms into largest Covid-19 facility
Kolkata,08 May(HS): In an effort to further ramp up the infrastructural facilities to fight the Covid-19 pandemic in a more dedicated manner, the West Bengal government has converted the century-old Kolkata Medical College and Hospital into the largest dedicated Covid-19 hospital in entire East India by increasing its capacity by manifold.
In order to do that the state government has decided to add at least 2,000 more beds in the hospital in phases. Of them at least 500 beds were installed in the first phase today exclusively for Covid-19 patients.
Announcing the government decision Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is also the state Health Minister in separate messages through her twitter handle said ‘Keeping in view the increasing need of ramping up specialised COVID treatment in the State, we have decided to notify Medical College, Kolkata as a full-fledged tertiary level COVID Hospital, which will start functioning from today.’
Sonn in another message she said ‘the facility at Medical College, Kolkata will start with 500 beds (for both COVID and SARI) which would be scaled up as per need, in phases. This will be the 68th dedicated COVID hospital of West Bengal’
The decision to convert Kolkata Medical College and Hospital as also the city’s 6th exclusive hospital for the treatment of Covid-19 patients, was taken following a marathon meeting at the state Secretariat Nabanna last night under the Chairmanship of the Chief Minister. Among others Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya, state Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha, Home Secretary Alapan Bandopadhay and Health Secretary Vivek Kumar were present.
The meeting also reportedly decided that a set of new team of doctors and nurses would soon be posted in the hospital from other areas to jack up the state government all out moves to contain the disease.
Apparently, the decision to convert the city’s largest and the oldest hospital into another Covid-19 hospital was taken in the wake of the recent jump in the number of those affected by the killer disease despite brinining as many as 10 districts of the state under Red Zone and under strict lockdown norms besides turning over 550 localities into Containment zones, including nearly 300 in Kolkata alone causing concern to the state Health department.
Even the number of sample testing was also ramped up substantially to take it over 2,700 every day since early this week, as on an average about 75 to 90 people are being found positive with an average loss of life of about 5 people on daily basis.
