Bhubaneswar: With the number of COVID-19 positive cases gradually rising in the country, the Odisha government has readied two dedicated hospitals exclusively for coronavirus patients. The two hospitals were inaugurated Thursday by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, a senior official said. The total capacity of the two hospitals is 625 beds.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the COVID-19 hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack through video-conferencing, during which he interacted with doctors and paramedics and appreciated their commitment in the fight against the coronavirus.
The first hospital with 500 beds is at KIMS Bhubaneswar while the second with a capacity of 125 beds is at Ashwini Hospital in Cuttack. Both the hospitals have been funded by state PSU Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC).
Mentioning that the government is ready to provide better healthcare to COVID-19 patients in the two stand alone hospitals, the Naveen Patnaik expressed hope that people of Odisha can win the fight against the deadly infection through social distancing, hand washing and observing lockdown guidelines.
The Odisha government had earlier announced free treatment along with free food and rent free stay for all COVID-19 cases in these hospitals. Odisha has so far reported five positive COVID- 19 patients. One of the five has been completely cured and discharged from hospital.
The Odisha government has also taken measures for increasing the number of hospital beds amid the threat of community transmission of the coronavirus, another official said.
Another dedicated COVID-19 hospital with bed strength of 500 will be readied soon in this city with financial assistance from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), informed Patnaik. A similar facility will be established at Tangi near Cuttack with a capacity of 700 beds.
This apart, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar, is all set to make available an exclusive unit with 206 beds in its campus in the capital city, an official said.
The AYUSH complex of the AIIMS is also ready with 20 isolation beds and 10 ventilators to deal with the emerging situation, said the official.
Similarly, the government has decided to temporarily reserve around 500 beds with ICU facilities exclusively for COVID-19 patients in Ganjam district, which has recorded an influx of a large number of migrant workers from virus-hit states and countries.
Arrangements have also been made for setting up similar hospitals exclusively for coronavirus patients in Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Dhenkanal, Puri and Paradip, the officials said.
PNN & Agencies