Odisha announces Covid-19-dedicated hospitals with 1,000 beds

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Thursday announced it will set up two 500-bed hospitals to exclusively treat Covid-19 patients. The hospitals, being set up in partnership with Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, will be functional in a fortnight.

While there were three positive cases of Covid-19 in the state as of March 26, the state government is preparing for any possible deterioration in the situation. About 84,000 people had returned to the state recently form other states and abroad. Panchayats across the state have already readied 7,200 beds for isolation and quarantine purposes.

Meanwhile on Thursday, a third positive case was reported. The state's health and family welfare department also warned patients against visiting the city's Kar Clinic for outpatient and inpatient care. "In spite of repeated advisory, some private healthcare facilities are not complying with the COVID19 Regulations. Government urges them to act responsibly and follow regulations while treating patients with flu like symptoms. Non- compliance shall be viewed seriously," the department tweeted.

The dedicated COVID19 hospitals will operate out of buildings provided by the two medical colleges. State-owned Orissa Mining Corporation and Coal India subsidiary Mahanadi Coal Ltd will fund this initiative from their CSR kitty. On Wednesday, OMC had announced a contribution of Rs 500 crore towards efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus infection. State funds and people’s contributions would also go into running these two hospitals.

"The learning from Italy was--apart from the fact that it had strong business relations with China, with Milan being the fashion capital, etc,--that it had also allowed Covid-19 patients to walk into normal hospitals, leading to the spread of the virus. There was a great need for patients to be isolated and kept under observation in a separate dedicated hospital instead," said Bishnu Panigrahi, CEO, KIMS.

Ashok Kumar Mahapatra, director health programmes, SUM Hospital, said the Covid-19 treatment wards would not just provide isolation wards but also world-class ICU and critical care facilities.

These two hospitals were being set up under extraordinary circumstances, pointed out government spokesperson Subroto Bagchi during the daily evening briefing. Once functional, people with symptoms can call the 104 helpline number to be brought to the hospital’s isolation wards.