The West Bengal health department will soon come out with guidelines on follow-up treatment of those who have recovered from COVID-19, amid rising cases of people falling sick or dying shortly after being cured of the disease, a senior official said on November 21.

Depending on their present health parameters after recovering from COVID-19, the department would divide them into two groups and continue the necessary treatment for a period of at least two months, he said. "There are reports that several of those who recovered from COVID-19 are falling sick again. There are cases where people have even died. So, we have decided that those who have recovered must continue follow-up treatment," the official said.

The decision was taken following an expert-committee meeting held on November 20. "The follow-up tests will be done as per requirement. A cured patient can go for a test within a week, within a fortnight or after a month depending on the health condition," he said. The patient need not go to a COVID-19 hospital to undergo the test, he added. "He or she can visit any government hospital where such tests will be done as per the advise of the doctor," the official said. In the recent past, many of those cured of coronavirus in the state have lost their lives due to acute respiratory distress syndrome or cardiac ailments. West Bengal, with a discharge rate of 92.54 per cent, reported 4,15,609 recoveries till November 20.