A 70-year-old man who tested positive for Covid-19 died at a city hospital on Thursday, state health department officials said.
The Kolkata resident was admitted to CMRI hospital in Alipore with several comorbidities. This is the first reported death of a Covid patient in Bengal in several months, a health official said.
“The man was suffering from sepsis, kidney ailment, cardiac problem and other health complications. The routine Covid test returned positive,” said the health official.
A CMRI official said the man was admitted to the hospital on Thursday morning. “He was admitted in the morning in a very critical condition and died later. The Covid test result came in the afternoon. It was positive,” said the CMRI official.
Health department officials said there were more than 10 active Covid-19 cases across Bengal.
Three of them are admitted to AMRI Hospitals, Dhakuria.
“All three were admitted with other ailments. They tested positive for Covid during routine examinations. All are stable and are being treated at the high dependency unit,” said an official of AMRI.
Two Covid patients are being treated at Belle Vue Clinic. They are in isolation rooms and their condition is stable, said an official.
One of them is a 64-year-old woman from Manoharpukur Road in Kolkata. The other is a 75-year-old man, a resident of Konnagar in Hooghly district.
Health officials said there is no need for panic over the renewed emergence of Covid cases in Bengal and that they are keeping a watch on the situation.
“Most of those who have tested positive for Covid recently are suffering from other ailments. However, as a precautionary measure, we have asked all hospitals to keep isolation beds ready and stay prepared with RT-PCR test kits,” said an official.
Several hospitals said they are conducting Covid tests for patients during admission only if they have symptoms like fever or respiratory distress.
“There is always a possibility of mutation of the Covid virus. This is because the coronavirus, whose genetic material is RNA, is prone to mutation. But there is nothing to panic yet,” said Chandramouli Bhattacharya, infectious disease specialist at Peerless Hospital.
“However, there should be a plan for vaccination if the mutated strain spreads,” said Bhattacharya.