Punjab to set up two dedicated makeshift COVID hospitals amid spike in Coronavirus cases

With a surge in the number of Coronavirus cases, the pressure on health infrastructure is also increasing which is why the Punjab Government has decided to set up two makeshift hospitals in Mohali and Bathinda. Both newly built makeshift hospitals will be having 104 beds each with ICUs which will be functional by the end of this month.

The decision to set up two makeshift COVID-19 dedicated hospitals was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan along with other senior officials of administration as well as the Indian Army.

“In order to further ramp up the existing health infrastructure and create more hospital beds for the critical patients battling the devastating second Covid wave, the Punjab Government will set up two makeshift hospitals equipped with ICU facilities exclusively for Covid patients in Mohali and Bathinda. Besides, nine new smaller hospitals at various district hospitals were also coming up in the state,” the official statement read.

During the meeting, Punjab Chief Secretary directed the Medical Education and Research department to make both the new hospitals functional by the end of this month to ensure the best possible healthcare to the Covid patients in the state.

“Principal Secretary Medical Education and Research (PSMER), DK Tiwari, apprised the Chief Secretary that 2.66-acre land near a refinery in Bathinda and 23000 sq ft land in Mohali has been identified for this purpose and both the hospitals will have the capacity of 104 beds each. The lifespan of these hospitals will be 25 years,” the statement added.

It further added that the Chief Secretary emphasised that all beds must have oxygen support to enhance Level-2 and Level-3 beds. The Chief Secretary also reviewed the status of oxygen supplies and availability in the state. “The number of beds needs to be increased with the support of Western Command and permissions for movement of products will be coordinated by the Medical Education department,” she added.

Col. Jasdeep Sandhu, Director, Civil-Military Affairs, Western Command, informed that he has visited the Mohali site and felt the need to utilise existing beds promptly as the field hospital unit can move in 3 days.

Punjab in the past 24 hours recorded 138 deaths with 7041 fresh cases taking the number of active cases to 58229. Ludhiana recorded a maximum of 1600 fresh Covid-19 cases, followed by 936 in Mohali, 653 in Bathinda and 566 in Jalandhar.