Kolkata - West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that Kolkata Medical College would be converted into a full-fledged COVID hospital in the wake of the rising number of coronavirus cases.

The hospital will be operational from Thursday, (May 7,2020).

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"Keeping in view the increasing need of ramping up specialized COVID treatment in the State, we have decided to notify Medical College, Kolkata as a full-fledged tertiary level COVID Hospital, which will start functioning from 7th May 2020 onwards," the West Bengal CM tweeted.

"The facility at Medical College, Kolkata will start with 500 beds (for both COVID and

Severe Acute Respiratory Infection) which would be scaled up as per need, in phases.

This will be the 68th dedicated COVID hospital of West Bengal," she said in another tweet.

West Bengal has so far reported 1,344 positive cases, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare today.

The total positive cases include 364 cured or discharged persons and 140 deaths.

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