Covid drill at 31 govt hospitals in West Bengal today

The West Bengal state health department has planned a Covid preparedness drill across 31 government-run hospitals in the state to ensure that they are prepared for any eventuality. The exercise will take place on Tuesday, and three government hospitals in Kolkata will be part of the drill. The drill aims to check the functionality of the life-saving equipment in the hospitals.

Although the number of active Covid cases in the state is still low, health officials stated the need for preparedness as cases are on the rise in Bengal and other states across the country. Bengal's active cases rose to 298 on Monday from 253 the previous day, and the positivity rate in Kolkata is approaching 7%.

The health officials have also emphasized the need for periodic checking of the Covid infrastructure that the government has developed so that it can be pressed into action as and when the need arises. Gastroenterology head GK Dhali, who is a member of Bengal's Covid-19 monitoring committee, believes that the Covid infrastructure in the government-run hospitals is adequate but requires periodic checking to ensure that it is functioning correctly.

Infectious diseases specialist Yogiraj Ray is hopeful that despite the spike in Covid cases, the number of people requiring intensive care and hospital admission will still be low. Ray, who is an associate professor at IPGMER, stated that he is currently getting one or two Covid-19 positive cases daily in the past few days.