IT major Wipro on Tuesday said it had recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government to repurpose one of its campuses in the Hinjewadi area into a 450-bed intermediary care COVID-19 hospital.
The company would be handing over the hospital to the State government by May end, said company sources.
“The 450-bed hospital will be ready by the month end and will be equipped to treat moderate cases. The hospital will have 12 beds to stabilise critical patients before shifting them to a tertiary care facility. This will be an independent, isolated COVID-19 dedicated complex; it will also include 24 well-appointed rooms to accommodate doctors and medical staff,” Wipro said in a release.
Wipro has said that it will be providing the physical infrastructure, medical furniture and equipment besides appointing an administrator and skeletal support staff to help operationalise the hospital quickly with the required medical professionals.
‘Tier-2 hospital’
“It is not a quarantine facility, but a Tier-2 hospital. We are creating the infrastructure and the operations part will be handled by the State government. This project is to come up at Phase 1 in Hinjewadi’s Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park. The COVID-19 hospital will be re-converted into an IT facility in a year’s time,” said a senior company functionary, speaking to The Hindu.
Lauding the initiative, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that this humanitarian contribution by Wipro would further strengthen the State’s medical infrastructure and benefit the medical fraternity at the forefront of the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“We are fully committed to supporting the country’s response to the pandemic and we must all work together to deal with this crisis and minimise its human impact. We stand firmly with the Government of Maharashtra in its battle against COVID-19,” said Rishad Premji, Chairman, Wipro Limited, adding that these resources would aid the dedicated medical and service fraternity in the frontlines of the battle against the pandemic.
Relief work
Last month, Wipro Limited, Wipro Enterprises Limited and the Azim Premji Foundation had together contributed ₹1,125 crore to tackle the health and humanitarian crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
Their relief work has so far touched over 34 lakh beneficiaries across India, said Wipro in the statement.