Kerala’s first hospital for virus patients ready for launch
KASARGOD: Work on the first dedicated hospital for COVID-19 treatment in Kerala is complete and is ready for launch, according to reports.
The Tata Group, which constructed the hospital as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme, informed the district administration that the work is nearing completion and is ready to be handed over.
Work on the hospital began at the end of April at the land alloted by the state government and is now completed in record time of 124 days.
The hospital with 541 beds is being set up on five acres of land at Puthiyavalapu, Chatanchal, about 10km from here.
The only work remaining is laying of the road, which is hampered by the monsoon rains as tarring needs two days of sun.
When Kasargod district witnessed a sharp rise in the number of people affected with Coronavirus in March/april, Tata Group proposed to build an exclusive hospital for the treatment of COVID-19 in Kasargod.
The administration accepted the Group’s offer of seting up the infrastructure. The state government is responsible for making all other facilities and arrangements for the functioning of the hospital. Providing beds, other hospital equipment, recruiting doctors and paramedical staff and maintenance of the facility will be looked ater by the state government.
The 51,200 square feet hospital has been built at a cost of Rs60 crore with 128 prefab units. Each unit is equivalent to a container that is 10 metres long and 4m wide.
There will three zones, two catering to quarantine facility and one for treating COVID-19 patients.
There will be five beds for people under observation and three beds for COVID positive patients in each unit.
There are also single-bed units for the elderly with beds that can be adjusted. Each unit has two air conditioners and five fans, separate toilets, air purifiers and air vent ducts. There are two units in each row, and two rows will face each other. There is a corridor through the middle and a common roof. There is a way for doctors and staff to move between two units.