Kolkata, Apr 30 (IANS): The West Bengal government on Thursday said patients with suspected symptoms of Covid-19 or those who are contacts of those detected with the virus would be tested for coronavirus ahead of a planned surgery.

Clarifying that the test for Covid 19 was not mandatory for all planned surgeries, the health department said pre-surgery test may also be done if the parent comes from a red zone of the deadly disease.

"Test for Covid-19 before planned surgery.... is not considered mandatory for all cases," a health department bulletin said.

"Cases of planned surgery, if having symptoms suggestive of Covid-19, or is a cose contact for a confirmed Covid-19 case, will be tested for SARS-cov2 (the Covid test) before the surgery. Pre-surgery test may also be done if a case for planned surgery comes from a red zone of Covid-19," the bulletin said.

In case of emergency surgery, the surgical intervention may be undertaken with standard precaution for the surgery team, the bulletin added.