Ghaziabad told to set up 500-bed L1 category Covid-19 facility

The officials said the Muradnagar facility will not cater to coronavirus cases, once the 500-bed facility is set up.

A four-member team sent by the Union health ministry which visited Ghaziabad on Wednesday has directed the district administration to come up with a 500-bed L1 category Covid-19 facility in the city to treat non-critical positive cases.The officials of the district health department said they have launched a search for a building where the facility can be set up.

At present, Ghaziabad has one L1 category Covid-19 hospital at Muradnagar which can host up to 30 patients at a time. (Sakib Ali / Hindustan Times)

“The health ministry team visited Ghaziabad, and expressed satisfaction about the arrangements we have put in place to deal with Covid-19 cases. However, they have asked us to come up with a 500-bed facility where Covid-19 positive patients can be kept. Our officials have started a search. The building need not be a 500-bed hospital as such, it can be a banquet hall, college or any other similar building where the facility can come up,” Dr NK Gupta, chief medical officer, Ghaziabad, said.

At present, Ghaziabad has one L1 category Covid-19 hospital at Muradnagar which can host up to 30 patients at a time. The officials said the Muradnagar facility will not cater to coronavirus cases, once the 500-bed facility is set up. They added that positive patients from other nearby districts can also be accommodated at the new facility once it starts operating.

Under the three-tier dedicated health care facilities to deal with Covid-19 cases, the Uttar Pradesh government has identified different health centres under L1, L2 and L3 levels with L1 catering to non-critical Covid-19 patients, while L2 and L3 will deal with more complicated and critical cases. The L1 attached is a sub-category under L1, for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients.

Health officials said most of the Covid-19 patients in Ghaziabad are either at Covid-19 facility in Muradnagar or at the ESI Hospital in Sahibabad. Till Thursday evening, no patient was admitted to the L2 facility at Sanjay Nagar.

“In Ghaziabad, we have a 76-bed L1 attached facility at ESI Hospital, Sahibabad. We have an L2 hospital in Sanjay Nagar which is now a dedicated Covid-19 hospital. At present, we have no patient at the Sanjay Nagar district combined hospital. Once we start with a 500-bed L1 category facility, health centre at Muradnagar will not cater to Covid-19 cases,” Dr Gupta added.

The CMO said that only two patients—residents of Indirapuram, both suffering from cancer, have been referred to L3 hospitals at Meerut and Delhi, respectively.

In another related development, the state government on Thursday decided to send two senior state officials to each district which has reported 20 or more Covid-19 positive cases.

“We have about 15 officials from state and districts’ administration, and another officer from the state health department, and these officials will be sent to these districts with 20 or more cases in a pair of two to monitor the lockdown and healthcare-related efforts. They will camp in these districts for a week,” said Awanish Awasthi, UP’s additional chief secretary (home).

“The chief minister has given directions for strict enforcement of the lockdown across the state. We have directed officials to keep a close watch on border areas and seize any commercial vehicles if they are found carrying more than two persons other than the driver and the helper. People who will violate lockdown norms will be nabbed and sent to quarantine centres, and their vehicle will also be seized,” he added.

The Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar districts have already sealed their borders with Delhi to keep the number of positive Covid-19 cases from rising.