Ggm turns to banquet halls and empty flats to fulfill isolation centre needs

GURUGRAM: In anticipation of a COVID-19 surge in the NCR city, the Gurugram district administration has now begun preparations to requisition large quarantine or isolation centres that may even end up being used as care facilities for mild or moderate cases.

While the planning to convert city banquet halls into large isolation centres has already begun, there are also plans in the works to make temporary isolation centres at vacant public spaces, including exploring options of converting vacant flats into quarantine facilities. The district administration has begun talks with builders and has urged them to provide vacant flats that can be used as isolation centres. In addition, officials at Bhondsi Jail are also looking to contribute and some of the prisoners have already been shifted to the Jhajjar Prison.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who was in Gurugram on Monday to take stock of the situation, also advocated for making a large number of isolation centres in the city. The Chief Minister had directed officials to conduct a survey of vacant buildings in the hardest-hit Gurugram District so that they can be used for isolation of COVID-19 patients when required.

While there have been incidents where residents have not allowed the setting up of the quarantine centres in their neighbourhoods, certain resident welfare associations (RWA) have expressed interest in setting up the isolation centres. Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Amit Khatri has said that he has been asked by certain RWAS to set up quarantine centres in their colonies if required and soon there will be SOPS that will be released for them to set up these facilities.

The need for creating isolation centres in large numbers comes at a time when a substantial proportion of the caseload is being reported from the slums and congested areas of Gurugram where it is difficult to maintain social distancing norms.

The move by the district administration to create a large number of isolation centres also comes at a time when the number of critical patients in the Gurugram is rising by the day. The total number of deaths in Gurugram is now fast approaching 50 and official figures show that there are currently 12 patients on ventilator.