100-bed facility at Tau Devi Lal stadium to start in a week, aid in treating cases from rural areas

A 100-bed makeshift Covid-19 facility being set up at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium is likely to be operational within a week, which will aid in handling patients from rural areas that are witnessing a gradual surge in infections, Gurugram’s deputy commissioner said on Monday

A 100-bed makeshift Covid-19 facility being set up at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium is likely to be operational within a week, which will aid in handling patients from rural areas that are witnessing a gradual surge in infections, Gurugram’s deputy commissioner said on Monday.

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“The construction of the facility has been going on at a fast pace and will be ready within six to seven days. Medical supplies have already been procured and health staff is also being arranged to run the facility. It will ease the Covid-19 burden and mitigate the current crisis, especially emerging in rural areas that lack proper healthcare infrastructure,” said Dr Yash Garg, the deputy commissioner.

In rural areas falling under Pataudi, Farrukhnagar and Sohna, the test positivity rate (the proportion of positives out of the sample tested) has gone up to 21%. Subdivisional hospitals in these blocks lack the infrastructure to handle moderate to severely ill Covid-19 cases. Even the existing healthcare infrastructure in the city is under immense pressure in catering to patients from urban areas. Until Monday, at least 2,402 critically ill patients were admitted to the Covid-19 hospitals in the city.

According to Garg, since many people from villages cannot afford treatment in private hospitals, the new facility will help in providing timely treatment to patients from rural areas and will also cater to the urban population. The facility will be run and managed by the district administration.

The facility will have at least 10 ventilator beds and 10 beds in a high dependency unit, along with 80 beds with oxygen support systems. “The administration has been working on setting up an oxygen plant at the facility so that we are prepared for the next wave,” said Garg.

The district health department has sent a request for hiring at least 84 health workers, comprising 60 staff nurses, 16 medical officers, three physicians and five anaesthetists to run the facility. “The list has already been shared with the deputy commissioner,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer.

The facility was earlier planned to come up in Sector 27 but faced resistance from residents of the area, following which the district administration shifted it to Tau Devi Lal stadium.

On Monday, more than 80 workers were involved in setting up the makeshift facility. The construction in-charge, who requested not to be named, said, “Within a week of the announcement, the basic infrastructure has been set up. Now, electricity, air conditioning and water support systems are being arranged. In all likelihood, it will be ready in seven to 10 days,” he said.