13 out of 19 children who died were suffering from comorbidities: CM

MP | 7 Mar 2023 | KOLKATA: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Assembly on Monday said that around 19 children have died in the state so far out of which 13 children were suffering from various comorbidities. 

Remaining 6 children died due to Adenovirus infection. CM said that one of her family members was affected with adenovirus infection. She urged the people to wear masks while visiting crowded places. 

“There has been an after effect of Covid. If someone is down with fever please consult a doctor. A total of 19 children died so far out of which 13 had comorbidities. Six died due to adenovirus. I like children very much. Please use masks for some days. If required you can take the help of telemedicine,”Banerjee said. 

She also said that the state’s health infrastructure has improved than what it had been when Covid had emerged. 

Taking a potshot on the erstwhile CPI(M) government, Banerjee said: “Some are saying that there is no SNCU. During the Left regime, there was no SNCU. Now there are 2,486 SNCUs in 138 hospitals.” 

Meanwhile, the state government has formed a special team with specialised doctors that has started visiting various mother child hubs to assess the children’s infection scenario and will also give various suggestions to the government to handle the situation. 

Incidentally, two more children have died at BC Roy Hospital since Sunday night following infection. 

The members are mostly expert doctors in the field of pediatrics from various medical colleges in the city. These experts are visiting various hospitals to review the situation. They will submit a report to the state health department on the basis of its observation. 

There has been sufficient infrastructure created across the state in recent years to deal with the situation. There are more than 2500 Sick Natal care units (SNCU)beds , 654 Paediatric Intensive Care Unit(PICU), and 120 NeoNatal Care Unit (NICU) beds in the state. Additional 75 PICU beds have also been made operational in B C Roy hospital recently. Senior doctors are also deployed at BC Roy hospital to manage the situation. The Chief Minister on repeated occasions urged the district hospitals not to refer children suffering from infection to the city hospitals despite having infrastructure as it is leading to more deaths. She had earlier said that many children are dying because of a long transit. 

Many of these patients are underweight and suffering from malnutrition. She said that deaths are sometimes caused due to seasonal viruses every year. She urged the people not to panic as the state is ready to combat the situation. She had held a meeting with the Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi and health secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam recently. 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/13-out-of-19-children-who-died-were-suffering-from-comorbidities-cm-510954