In the wake of possibilities of the Third Covid wave getting intense by February , the district administration has decided to come up with a special corona facility at Kantilal Gandhi Memorial Hospital (KGMH) at Bistupur.

The hospital will be set up by the district administration for Covid patients, as part of its strategy to combat Covid and it will start functioning from January 15.

Revealing about the plans, district civil surgeon, AK Lal said the district administration has taken up the KGMH for combating Covid. "As part of our strategy to counter the third wave of Covid we are setting up a Covid hospital at the KGMH. Once the pandemic is over, we will hand over the hospital to the KGMH trust, " said Lal.

The civil surgeon stated that all necessary steps regarding the starting of the Covid hospital have been completed and the work in this regard will be completed soon. Located at South Park in Bistupur, Kantilal Gandhi Memorial Hospital has been referred to as Medica Hospital since September 2014 when the Kolkata-based hospital chain signed a deal to manage it. However, with the end of the contract the hospital management decided to wind up.  In view of the shortage of beds the hospital has been revived. The hospital will come up alongside the existing Covid treatment facility there. With a surge in Covid cases in the New Year, the East Singhbhum deputy commissioner, Suraj Kumar took up the decision to take over the hospital to set up a hospital there.

District administration has also plans to take number of dedicated beds for corona patients to 1000. Currently the district has around 600 dedicated Covid-19 beds ready but with number of cases rising every day the administration needs to have additional beds. “We have asked private Covid hospitals to share information about vacant and engaged beds. The hospitals are already updating their bed status with us. This information will help the rural population too to get a pinpointed location of a hospital where they can get admission,” said an official.

According to a district administration source, the demand for updated information regarding bed availability was raised by people’s representatives and some officials during the Covid review meeting at the office of the divisional commissioner.

The team members will meet daily in evening to also monitor the storage and transportation of vaccine. He went on to inform that the room has been at the forefront of compiling COVID-19-related data. “The team has been given different sets of responsibilities, it will become easier for them to focus on specific challenges and take up matter during meetings,” said another official.