With the number of COVID-19positive cases gradually rising in the country, the Odisha government has readied two dedicated hospitals exclusively for coronavirus patients which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday, a senior official said.The chief minister inaugurated the facilities in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack through video-conferencing, during which he interacted with doctors and paramedics and appreciated their commitment in the fight against the coronavirus.Two stand alone hospitals, with a total capacity of 625 beds, are now ready to provide dedicated health care services to COVID-19 patients, the official said.The first hospital with 500 beds is at KIMS Bhubaneswar while the second with a capacity of 125 beds is at Ashwini Hospital in Cuttack. Both the hospitals have been funded by state PSU Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC).Mentioning that the government is ready to provide better health care to COVID-19 patients in the two stand alone hospitals, the chief minister expressed hope that people of the state can win the fight against the deadly infection through social distancing, hand washing and observing lockdown guidelines.The state government had earlier announced free treatment along with free food and rent free stay for all COVID-19 cases in these hospitals.Odisha has so far reported five positive COVID- 19 patients. One of the five has been completely cured and discharged from hospital.The Odisha government has also taken measures for increasing the number of hospital beds amid the threat of community transmission of the coronavirus, another official said.Another dedicated COVID-19 hospital with a bed strength of 500 will be readied soon in Bhubaneswar with financial assistance from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), he said.A similar facility will be established at Tangi near Cuttack with a capacity of 700 beds.This apart, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar, is all set to make available an exclusive unit with 206 beds in its campus in the capital city, an official said.The AYUSH complex of the AIIMS is also ready with 20 isolation beds and ten ventilators to deal with the emerging situation, he said.Similarly, the government has decided to temporarily reserve around 500 beds with ICU facilities exclusively for COVID-19 patients in Ganjam district, which has recorded an influx of a large number of migrant workers from virus-hit states and countries.Arrangements have also been made for setting up similar hospitals exclusively for coronavirus patients in Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Dhenkanal, Puri and Paradip, the officials said.
