Special hospital planned to treat COVID cases

BENGALURU: Medical education minister K Sudhakar said the government plans to convert a full-fledged hospital in Bengaluru into a facility exclusively to tackle the new coronavirus.

“All expertise will be there in this hospital. We are yet to identify the hospital, but intend to have 300-450 beds. This way, the chances of the spread of the virus from existing patients can be minimised,” he said on Thursday.

Akash Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre and another private medical college will be selected to function as quarantine centres for COVID-19 patients in the city.

Health commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey said, “a few others are being identified to function as first responder hospitals. If anyone with cold, cough, fever or history of travel to coronavirus-affected countries or in contact with such a patient calls 104, they will be directed to any of these hospitals. They will give OPD consultations and testing.”

As many as 20 procedures have also been identified under Ayushman Bharath-Argogya Karnataka to cover hospital expenses of COVID-19 patients. Samples were being sent by air from other places to Bengaluru. They will now be sent by road.

‘Give info on employees travelling abroad’
The state health and family welfare department has asked IT/BT companies to submit a list of their employees who went abroad after February 21. They have to the inform the department which country they visited and provide related details to check for any symptoms of the new coronavirus. The matter was discussed at a meeting with representatives of IT/BT and manufacturing companies on Thursday. The companies were also told to avoid foreign travel.