Bengal well prepared, 178 out of nearly 8,000 beds allotted for COVID-19 patients used so far, says chief secretary

West Bengal is adequately prepared to handle the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, state chief secretary Rajiva Sinha said on Saturday. He said that only 178 out of a total of 7,969 beds allotted for such patients in 66 COVID-19 hospitals in the state had been used so far. He added that only 10 out of 1500 ventilators had been required for treating patients.

“There is no need to panic,” he said, assuring that it is not true that the state lacked infrastructure to handle the situation. The number of tests will be increased in the coming days and the government is working towards that, he said.  The number of active COVID-19 patients in the state is 178 at present, and COVID-19 related deaths is 12. Seven persons were discharged in the last 24 hours.

He said that the government had never asked hospitals in the state to close down from where COVID-19 cases were found. Sinha added that the hospitals can open and advised them to follow social distancing norms to prevent any more incidences of COVID-19 cases. He said that if these hospitals operate, that will only help the government in screening other patients for COVID-19 cases.