Kolkata: Bengal reported its 4th COVID-19 death at Howrah State General Hospital, after a 48-year-old woman succumbed to her ailments on Monday, a day before the Health department confirmed that she had tested positive for the virus. Meanwhile, swab test report of a middle aged man who died at the NRS Medical College and Hospital earlier after being admitted to the hospital with various complications, also came as positive on Tuesday. Senior Health department officials have ordered a probe as the patient was admitted to the general ward with suspected symptoms and allegedly kept there for nearly five hours before being finally shifted to the Critical Care Unit (CCU). The family members of the deceased have brought charges of glaring negligence against the hospital authorities as the patient had been kept at a CCU meant for normal patients, despite having a separate isolation ward. The family members also alleged that the isolation ward set up for the Corona suspected patients remained locked up and was therefore not utilised. As the matter was brought to the notice of the Health department, a probe has been initiated to find out if there was any negligence by the hospital authorities. Some of the nursing staff members of the hospital alleged that many of them were exposed to the patient. All the treating doctors, nursing staff and health workers have been put under quarantine. The victim, a resident of Salkia in Howrah, had no history of visiting abroad. She had, however, visited Dooars in North Bengal along with three of her family members recently. All her family members have been kept under home quarantine. They returned home on March 21. The patient was admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 symptoms on last Sunday and her samples were sent for testing on Monday. She died on Monday night, while the report came in on Tuesday morning. A section of the staff members alleged that she showed symptoms of the disease but the hospital authorities admitted her to the general ward. A 44-year-old woman from Kalimpong had also died of COVID-19 in North Bengal Medical College on Monday. Bengal registered its first COVID-19 death on March 23, when a 57-year-old man died of the disease at a private hospital in Salt Lake. Meanwhile, 15 new patients have tested positive in the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 37. A 57-year-old man, a resident of Rathtala area, was admitted to a private hospital in Belghoria on March 26. He tested positive for the virus on Tuesday and has been kept under ventilation. According to hospital sources, the patient has been suffering from kidney related problems and dialysis had been performed on him on several occasions. The Health department has already asked the private hospital to put the attending doctors, nurses and health workers under home quarantine. In two separate incidents, a 51-year-old man from Salt Lake who was admitted to a private hospital in the locality and a 52-year-old man, a resident of Tollygunge who was admitted to a private hospital in Dhakuria, tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. None of them has any history of travelling abroad. On the other hand, a 32-year-old youth, a resident of Daspur in West Midnapore, was admitted to Midnapore Medical College and Hospital. He tested positive on Tuesday, along with Surendra Kumar Jain, a resident of Rajballabh Saha Lane, Howrah, who was admitted to a private hospital in Dum Dum.

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