The Bengal government has appealed to all private hospitals to earmark at least 50 beds each for Covid-19 patients and asked more private diagnostic laboratories to start conducting the test for the disease.

Some hospitals said they had already allotted more than 50 beds for patients with the coronavirus infection.

Among others who have set aside fewer beds for the disease, some said it would be difficult to increase the bed count because of infrastructure and staff constraints.

“…We are all aware that the number of Covid positive cases are on the stiff increase. At this stage we will need more beds to cope up with the demand. Apart from the infrastructure you are having, if you could offer a dedicated ward having a minimum number of 50 beds, we would try to arrange logistics, workforce and other resources,” retired judge Ashim Kumar Banerjee, the chairperson of the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission, which regulates private hospitals, posted a voice message in a closed WhatsApp group of private hospitals of the state on Monday night. “I make it clear, this is simply a proposal.”

In another voice message posted on the group the same night, Banerjee appealed to private pathological laboratories to apply for approval to conduct the Covid-19 test.

“Several hospitals have contacted me and discussed the details about how to increase the number of beds,” Banerjee said on Tuesday.

The number of Covid-19 cases has been steadily rising in the state. In the middle of May, around 100 cases were reported every day.

On June 12, 476 cases were detected. The count was 389 on June 14, 407 on June 15 and 415 on June 16. On Tuesday, Calcutta had 170 new cases, raising the total count in the city to 3,946.

Calcutta accounts for the maximum number of cases.

Belle Vue Clinic and Medica Superspecialty Hospital have allotted more than 50 and 100 beds respectively for Covid-19 treatment.

Several hospitals said it would be difficult for them to have more Covid beds.

Woodlands Hospital said it had two beds where patients testing positive for Covid-19 were kept before they were transferred to another hospital.

“Woodlands has infrastructure constraints and have 40 isolation beds with two Covid identified beds now. We are admitting all cases so that treatment for all other ailments and surgeries are safely carried out...,” said Rupali Basu, the MD and CEO of the hospital.

Another private hospital, which has kept 20 beds for Covid-19 patients, said it could not add more beds in the ward.