Mandatory for COVID-19 patients to be hospitalised, clarifies West Bengal

The West Bengal government on Monday issued a clarification regarding the COVID-19 patients to be allowed to home quarantine themselves in the State.

According to the state's Health Department, the COVID-19 positive patients to be mandatorily brought to hospitals.

"The 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," reads the order.

It states that even in home quarantine, the persons concerned will be under close surveillance of the local health authorities and their health status will be monitored closely, for appropriate interventions as may be necessary.

"It is clarified that this does not apply to COVID positive cases who are mandatorily to be brought to the designated COVID hospital," adds the order.

This comes after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee earlier in the day said that her government will provide help to the people of the state stranded in different parts of the country but expressed inability to provide quarantine facilities for "lakhs and lakhs of people."

"We have taken a decision, if a person is tested positive for COVID-19 and that person has provision to isolate himself at his residence, the person can home quarantine himself," Mamata had said.

While lamenting that the state lacks the capability of providing large quarantine facilities, she had said: "Lakhs and lakhs of people can't be quarantined. The government has its own limit."

( With inputs from ANI )