New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited a newly-created temporary hospital with 1,000 beds, including 250 in the ICU, for COVID-19 patients here Sunday, officials said.
The facility has been constructed in just 12 days near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport on a piece of land belonging to the Ministry of Defence.
“Visited the 1,000 bed Sardar Patel Covid Hospital, which has 250 ICU beds, along with @rajnathsingh ji. DRDO built it in record time of 12 days with assistance from MHA, MOHFW, Armed Forces and Tata Trust,” Shah said in a tweet.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also accompanied Shah and Singh.
Shah said an Armed Forces Medical Services team will run the hospital while the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will maintain it.
The home minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is fully committed to helping the people of Delhi in these challenging times and this COVID hospital, yet again, highlights that resolve.
He thanked the DRDO, Tatas and the armed forces medical personnel “who have risen to the occasion and helped tackle the emergency”.
A press release issued by the Defence Ministry said, “Shri Rajnath Singh expressed satisfaction after visiting the hospital. He appreciated the efforts of stakeholders in building this facility in such a short span of time.”
In a tweet in Hindi, Kejriwal said, “DRDO’s 1,000-bed coronavirus hospital is ready. I thank the central government on behalf of Delhiities. It (hospital) has 250 ICU beds, which is very much needed in Delhi at the moment.”
PTI