100-bed Covid care centre set up at Paprola college

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, May 2

A 100-bed Covid care hospital has been created by the district administration in Rajiv Gandhi Ayurvedic College Complex at Paprola, 20 km from here, in view of the growing coronavirus cases. All the beds have been connected with oxygen supply so that immediate medical aid is provided to Covid patients.

Deputy Commissioner Kangra Rakesh Kumar Prajapati, who is supervising the setting of the hospital in the district, said besides this centre, the district administration had also identified about half a dozen other sites for setting up such Covid care facilities in the district.

The Kangra is the worst hit district by the pandemic where average 600 persons are being tested positive daily for the past one week while the mortality rate per day is 16 which is alarming. The weekend lockdown in the district has also proved futile as cases are rising daily.

SDM Palampur Dharmesh Ramotra said all arrangements have been completed for opening of this Covid care centre and in the next two days the health department would start admitting patients. He said every room of the Covid Care Centre has been equipped with LEDs.

“In the past fortnight a large number of Covid 19 cases have been reported from rural areas of Palampur, Baijnath, Jaisinghpur and Dheera sub divisions. Hundreds of persons have been isolated at home in the absence of beds in the hospitals. Some of them are in critical condition. Therefore, the administration has realized that more Covid care centres are needed to meet the emergencies as figure of Covid case has gone up manifold in the region,” said senior officer of the health department while interacting with The Tribune.

Kangra is the largest district of the state bordering Punjab and J&K. In the past one month hundreds of tourists from high-load states like Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh visited the state resulting in surge in Covid cases. Besides, there were over 3500 marriages in the district which normally attract huge crowds. At such events Covid protocols are generally thrown to the winds.

No update on bed availability

Shimla: A Health Department website had no updates on the availability of beds in Covid facilities across the state on Sunday. Health officials had started giving out information on the availability of beds over the last few days. This information is important for the people looking for beds for their patients. TNS