The quarantine unit for “moderate-risk” passengers arriving from seven countries affected by the novel coronavirus has been shifted from Barasat to New Town.

A man aged 70-plus has been quarantined at the New Town unit, set up on the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute campus, where his condition is being monitored by a team of doctors, a health department official said.

The seven countries are China, South Korea, Iran, France, Italy, Spain and Germany.

“Moderate-risk” passengers are those arriving from affected countries, aged more than 60 and having an underlying condition such as diabetes, hypertension or asthma but not suffering from any symptom of possible coronavirus infection.

Asymptomatic passengers from these countries who are below 60 and are not having any underlying condition will be advised home-quarantine.

Initially, the state government had set up a quarantine facility at North 24-Parganas District Hospital in Barasat for moderate-risk passengers arriving at the Calcutta airport from the affected countries.

The New Town unit has 50 beds. If needed, the capacity can be increased to 500 or even more, officials said.

“We are planning to set up such a quarantine facility in districts, too,” an official in the health department said.

“Those people who don’t need medical intervention will be kept in these units. Quarantine facilities for asymptomatic passengers are being set up at hospitals because if someone manifests symptoms of infection, a doctor can attend to him or her,” the official said.

The persons who will be sent to the New Town unit will be tested for Covid-19. “If someone in quarantine develops symptoms of infection, he or she will be shifted to an isolation facility,” the official said.

A quarantine unit has been set up at Falakata Superspeciality Hospital in Alipurduar for passengers arriving at the Bagdogra airport from affected countries.