People are seen at a temporary quarantine centre in Kolkata. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

With a rise in the number of positive cases in West Bengal, the state government has decided to convert schools and tourist lodges, besides local healthcare centres, to make eight new dedicated hospitals for treatment of Covid-19. It has also decided to augment the capacity of existing Covid hospitals in the state.

The state has 69 Covid-dedicated hospitals, of which 16 are state-run and 53 are private hospitals requisitioned by the government. A total of 8,78 beds have been earmarked for Covid patients and the occupancy stands at 19.57 per cent. There are a total 920 ICU beds and 392 ventilators in these hospitals.

According to a notification issued Friday by the state health department, locations to be converted to hospitals include the Tribeni tourist lodge in Darjeeling’s Lamahatta, Madhumamata Lodge in Birbhum’s Rampurhat, Modern School in Malda’s Manickchowk, and Christio Seva Sadan in Murshidabad’s Jiagunj.

“We have already converted a lot of hospitals, both private and government, including medical college hospitals, as Covid hospitals. These hospitals only cater to Covid positive cases. After lakhs of migrant labourers returned to Bengal from different states, more Covid cases are identified. More testing is also being done. So there is a need to be prepared,” said a senior health department official.

“As a part of that preparation, we are converting more available institutions into Covid hospitals. Schools and tourist lodges too are being converted into Covid hospitals,” the official added.