Several private hospitals in Calcutta are referring patients with Covid-19 symptoms or those who have tested positive for the virus to designated hospitals for coronavirus cases instead of treating them, officials of the hospitals and the state health department said.

A notification issued by the state health department on April 3 states “individuals seeking treatment in private hospitals are free to do so”.

“There is no government directive on shifting Covid-19 patients from private hospitals to government hospitals designated for such patients. Private hospitals can treat patients who have Covid-19 symptoms or tested positive for the disease, scrupulously abiding by the protocol,” a state government official said on Friday.

The “referrals” from private hospitals are because of several reasons, including concerns about the highly contagious virus infecting other patients, and doctors, nurses and paramedics.

Besides, sources said, news about several hospitals in Mumbai having been sealed following spread of the virus within the facilities are playing on the minds of the managements of private hospitals in the city.

Officials of several hospitals also cited “confusing verbal communications” from health department officials about where Covid-19 patients should be treated.

Officials of at least three private hospitals said health department officials had verbally told them to refer coronavirus patients to designated government-run hospitals. One of the officials said on Friday that they had received another verbal directive, which asked the hospital to treat coronavirus patients.

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The state government has designated Infectious Diseases and Beleghata General Hospital, MR Bangur Hospital, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (New Town) and AMRI Hospitals Salt Lake (annexe) for Covid-19 treatment in Calcutta.

“We are identifying patients in our emergency isolation unit who have coronavirus symptoms such as fever, cough and respiratory distress. We are asking them to go to MR Bangur or ID Hospital in Beleghata,” the CEO of a private hospital said.

“The isolation rooms in our hospital were set up for SARS and swine flu patients. Covid-19 is far more contagious. We fear other patients in the hospital could catch the virus if coronavirus cases are kept in the isolation unit. So, we are not taking any risk,” he said.

Most private hospitals have their isolation units in the building where other patients are treated. Many have designated a floor for isolation, while some have negative pressurised rooms (the air pressure inside is lower than that outside) for the facility.

“But we have to take the coronavirus suspects up on common elevators, which then need to be sanitised. Also, the emergency area is not completely isolated,” an official of another private hospital said.

Some are worried about a rerun of the Wockhardt or Yashlok hospital incident. The two Mumbai hospitals had to be sealed off because of coronavirus contamination.

Health department sources said several coronavirus treatment centres such as MR Bangur and AMRI Salt Lake are not yet fully ready.

Recently, the brother of a patient admitted at MR Bangur had written to chief minister Mamata Banerjee highlighting the lack of basic facilities there.