Taking note of an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients in Bengaluru, the State government has decided to prepare a blueprint on the requirement of beds for the coming days and work towards reducing the waiting period for COVID-19 beds from the present range of 24-48 hours to eight hours.
This will be achieved by using places like Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre, Legacy Centre and Metro Community Centre, said Revenue Minister R. Ashok, who is in-charge of monitoring the situation in Bengaluru.
The target is to have at least 15 to 20 per cent more beds than the requirement, he explained. Mr. Ashok was briefing media persons after a meeting of all-party legislators and MPs from Bengaluru city convened by Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa to take their suggestions.
While senior IAS officer Tushar Girinath will monitor availability of beds in the city, nodal officers would also be appointed for monitoring bed availability for all the assembly constituencies, he said.
₹25 lakh for needs
Reiterating that the government would opt for seal down of containment zones instead of resorting to lockdown, Mr. Ashok said the geographical jurisdiction of containment zones would be increased. Every ward in Bengaluru city would be given ₹25 lakh for taking care of food and other materials required in the sealed down areas, he said.
He said the government had decided to increase the testing for COVID-19 in Bengaluru city from the present 4,000 persons per day to 7,500. A total of 5,53,325 persons had been tested so far in the state, he noted.
Pointing out that select private hospitals had been told to earmark 50 per cent of their beds for treatment of COVID-19 patients, Mr. Ashok warned of action against those denying treatment.
He pointed out that while Bengaluru till June 25 had reported 1,207 active cases, it was lesser when compared with the number as well as deaths in other metropolitan cities of the country.
More ambulances
Meanwhile, according to a communication from the Chief Minister’s office, Mr. Yediyurappa agreed to the suggestion by the all-party meeting to increase the number of ambulances that had been dedicated for carrying bodies of those succumbing to COVID-19.
He also agreed to consider a suggestion for giving importance to using Ayurvedic health products to increase resistance and as precaution, the release said.
Earlier, some of the Opposition members suggested enforcing lockdown while others stressed the need for a mechanism for getting test results immediately, so that the person can be subject to treatment immediately.