The Maharashtra Government is in the final stages of temporarily converting the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum at Satara city into a Covid hospital. The hospital will have 234 oxygen beds and 52 ICU beds, the State Government said in its statement.
Satara city in Western Maharashtra had served as the capital of the Maratha empire. The district administration decided to convert the Museum, which has weapons, inscriptions, paintings and textiles on display, as the site is centrally located in the city. The local citizens had also demanded a dedicated Covid facility at the district headquarters. As on Monday (October 5), the total number of Covid cases in the district was 39,755. The number of recovered patients has reached 30,748, however, the district also had 1,123 deaths. The active cases in the district have reached 7,882.
The hospital will also have four beds reserved for dialysis patients who are unable to get admitted to the regular hospitals due to the pandemic restrictions.
The Maharashtra Cooperation Minister and district guardian minister, Balasaheb Patil said that volunteers and industries have helped the government to set up a hospital, which is expected to be inaugurated by Friday.
Around ₹ 5.92 crore has been spent for construction and electrical facilities and a further ₹6.84 crore for medical equipment. The state government would require another ₹13. 99 crore for for six months, the statement added.