Mask up, stay alert: Govt sends out advisory as West Bengal logs 135 Covid cases

KOLKATA: Stay alert, mask up, abide by Covid-appropriate behaviour, cautioned the state health department on Tuesday. In its advisory issued on Tuesday, the government stressed that the vulnerable population should take maximum precautions as they were susceptible to serious complications if infected by the novel coronavirus.
"While only about 8% active cases are in hospital, we fear more patients from the vulnerable section to develop serious health complications if they get infected. The current, circulating strain of the virus in Bengal is known to mostly cause mild disease but it is highly transmissible. We have to resort to Covid-appropriate behaviour as much as possible to stay safe," said a senior health official. Bengal logged 135 fresh Covid cases in the past 24 hours on Tuesday, taking the total number of active cases to 757. Of them, 59 patients are under hospital care across Bengal. Kolkata, with its weekly positivity rate of 13%, has the highest number of active Covid cases in Bengal. The overall positivity rate of the state is also inching towards the 10%-mark.
A health department official pointed out that only a few among Covid patients needed hospital care at present but even then, the number had increased by almost four times in the past two weeks. Some hospitals in the city, which did not have any coronavirus patient for months, have started seeing one of two patients coming in.
The state advisory has asked people, specially the elderly, children, pregnant women and people with comorbidities, to avoid gatherings and crowded places. The government has also asked people to mask up while venturing into crowded places and travelling by public transport. Anybody developing fever with sore throat, cold and cough should be encouraged to get tested for Covid, the advisory said. Those who are yet to take the precaution dose of the Covid vaccine have been told to take it without delay.
While healthy individuals, with mild symptoms, have been asked to stay in home isolation upon testing positive, the advisory said they should immediately consult a doctor or a hospital at the slightest aggravation of symptoms. In case of children and people at risk testing positive, they should seek help from a hospital without delay. People have been discouraged rampant use of antibiotics and cough syrup without proper medical advice.
The advisory pointed out that the elderly, people with pre-existing conditions, like heart, lung, kidney and liver ailments, with diabetes, those with compromised immunity, such as cancer patients, HIV+ people and those on steroid or immunosuppressive medications for a long time, were susceptible to health complications if infected with Covid.