Covid-19 patients can go to private hospitals for treatment if they desire, said state chief secretary Rajiva Sinha (photo) at Nabanna today while two more persons died due to Corona in the last 24 hours, and the total active cases rose to 522.

“If a Corona positive patient wants to be treated in a private hospital then he/she can go there else treatment can be provided at government hospital. There is adequate facilities at the four Covid hospitals in Kolkata for providing the necessary treatment,” said Sinha.

The state government has requested the private hospitals to provide proper isolation areas and to follow the ICMR guidelines while providing the treatment. “If your budget permits then you can go to private hospitals but we are ready with all infrastructural facilities at the government hospitals,” Sinha said.

In order to break the chain of transmission, the state government has allowed mild or pre-symptomatic patients to remain in home quarantine if they possess necessary facilities at their homes.

“People should not think that as we don’t have space or facilities in our hospitals we are pressing for home quarantining,” he added.

Ruling out the confusion over whether Covid positive patients can be kept in home isolation or not, state government issued a notification last evening clarifying that primary/ secondary contacts of Covid positive cases and who have reasonable living/physical spaces in their homes may be put under home quarantine instead of institutional quarantine, with the necessary advice on social and physical distancing, use of masks, and other dos and don’ts.

It is clarified that this does not apply to Covid positive cases who are mandatorily to be brought to the designated Covid hospital, read an order issued yesterday.

Later, at night, the Health Ministry stated that patients who have been clinically diagnosed as very mild or pre-symptomatic cases of Covid-19 or suspects who are awaiting test results are allowed to quarantine at home provided they have pre-requisite facilities available at his/her residence.

The state government issued a notification today morning on the lines of the Health Ministry, added Sinha. “If patients are cured in home quarantine then we will be able to remove the social stigma that is involved in connection to admission at Covid hospitals,” said Sinha.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had told in a press conference yesterday that lakhs and lakhs of people cannot be quarantined as the government has its own limitations. Since yesterday, 28 new Corona positive cases were detected.