COVID Care Centres go upscale in Bengaluru as hotels offer services now

BENGALURU: A COVID-19 infection may lose its sting in a luxury star hotel, or so go the advertisements of hotels inviting patients to pamper themselves in serene surroundings, in complete isolation.

With business all but coming to a halt, hotels are thinking out of the box and circulating brochures, stating that they are taking hospitality one step forward for COVID patients who wish to spend time in isolation.

On offer is free Wi-Fi, parking, television, room service and medical attention on call, apart from meals, refreshments twice a day, besides regular guidance from doctors and nurses. The package is for rooms with single or double occupancy, for the 10-55 age group.

Hotels share that they have tied up with particular hospitals to set up COVID Care Centres, like The Lalit Ashok is partnering Apollo Hospitals, while Yo Hotel is tying up with Sagar Hospital in Jayanagar.

According to the Hotels and Restaurants' Association, 32 hotels have tied up with 12 hospitals in Bengaluru. Association members say: "Since the hotel industry is seeing a lull, this is the best way to make some money. We are trying to get citizens to stay in hotels, as most of them are vacant. It is creative and sends a positive message, and is not just happening in Bengaluru."

"I was surprised to get a brochure on email and WhatsApp from a hotel-cum-casino in Goa, that they are open and have qualified doctors and nurses to help out. With the COVID cases and lockdown, I was very gloomy, this brought a ray of hope and reason to visit Goa," said Abhishek Mehra, a software professional who recently recovered from COVID-19. 

Karnataka gets 240 MT of oxygen via rail

A second consignment of 240 tonnes of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) for Karnataka reached Bengaluru on Saturday through two special Oxygen Express trains, each bearing six cryogenic containers. The second Oxygen Express reached Inland Container Depot at Whitefield at 3.20am, from Kalinga Nagar in Odisha, carrying 120 tonnes of LMO. A third Oxygen Express left Tatanagar in Jharkhand on Friday and reached Whitefield on Saturday.