West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee holds coronavirus meeting at Nabanna – Times of India

KOLKATA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that during the video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday she will highlight that Centre is not supplying kits which are supposed to fight coronavirus. She said she was surprised that permission for new labs to detect coronavirus was not given yet. The CM wanted that atleast 4 new labs should be allowed to operate as there are 2 – one at SSKM hospital and another at ID hospital Beliaghata.
The CM wanted permission for the new labs at North Bengal Medical College hospital, Midnapore Medical College hospital, Burdwan Medical College hospital and Bankura Medical College hospital. She asked chief secretary Rajiva Sinha to speak to ICMR for approval.
Already as reports of hoarding has reacted Nabanna the CM directed police commissioners, DMs and SPs to take stern action.
During a meeting at Nabanna with state officials, health officials and private hospital officials she said that coronavirus patients needs to be treated with sensitivity. There should be no stigmatization and asked private health care providers to treat people at a cheap rate. She said the state government will try to bear a part of the treatment as the CM apprehended the worst is going to come in the fourth week and fifth week. “We are in the second week now.”
She added that those who are coming from overseas and tried to bypass the mandatory medical tests action will be taken against them.
The CM during discussions with health officials said there will be additional isolation beds at ID hospital in Beliaghata. The number of beds was increased by five times to 100.
At MR Bangur hospital there will 150 beds and at RGKar medical College will have 50 isolation beds .
She said that for the emergency staff, health workers and conservancy staff the state government has made an additional health insurance of Rs 5 laks and now this will also cover private sector health workers as well till April 15.
Most health officials conveyed about shortage of masks, hand sanitizer and lack of proper guidelines from ICMR.
CM said Bengal government was procuring 300 ventilators,ECMO machines, 2 lakh PPE dress and 2 lakh N 95 masks and promised to hand some of them to private hospitals