Gurugram to have quarantine facilities with total capacity of 650 beds

Gurugram: The state government is setting up three quarantine facilities with a total capacity of 650 beds in different parts of the district for Indian travellers

Gurugram: The state government is setting up three quarantine facilities with a total capacity of 650 beds in different parts of the district for Indian travellers arriving from countries severely affected by the novel coronavirus, officials from the health department said on Saturday. On Friday evening, a 300-bed quarantine facility at the SGT Medical College, a private institute on the outskirts of the city, was set up by the health department.

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On late Friday night, a team of the district health department, along with senior officials of the administration, was at the SGT Medical College, Chandu Budhera, to receive Indian travellers from European countries, who were to be quarantined for 14 days.

“They were supposed to reach the campus at 1am. The plans, however, changed at the last minute and they were taken to a facility in Delhi. On Saturday morning also, the evacuees were to reach Gurugram but there was a change in the plan,” said a senior health official, who preferred anonymity.

On Saturday, the health team finalised locations for additional quarantine facilities that can together accommodate 650 people. These are — 400-bed facility at government college in Sector 9, 100-bed centre at Teacher Bhawan Hostel in Sector 11 and 150-bed facility in Pataudi.

“We need to be prepared for whatever situation unfolds in the coming time,” said Rajeev Arora, additional chief secretary, health department. “Currently, we are considering locations with existing infrastructure like private medical college and hostels in government universities and colleges,” he said.

The additional chief secretary said that compared to other districts in the state, Gurugram is under 10 times more pressure to have these quarantine facilities. “We need to be prepared as per the advisory issued by the central government. Therefore, we have to ramp up quarantine facilities at the earliest before travellers from different countries arrive,” said Arora.

The Union ministry of health and family welfare, on Thursday, issued a directive to the states, to identify facilities within the vicinity of 30 airports across the country, where universal screening of international passengers is being carried out. All the Indian nationals arriving from or having visited China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, France, Spain, and Germany, after February 15, shall be quarantined for the minimum period of 14 days based on the travel advisory issued on March 11.

In setting up these facilities, the expenditure will be incurred by the district administration under State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF), as per the advisory issued by the ministry of home affairs. On Saturday, the ministry circulated a letter stating all expenditures for the containment of Covid-19 will be covered under SDRF. It includes provision for temporary accommodation, food, clothing and medical care of people sheltered in quarantine camps. The cost of consumables for sample collection, screening and setting up of additional testing laboratory will also be covered under it.

“We have an adequate budget to strengthen surveillance and control measures against the Covid-19 virus outbreak. We already had a meeting with the state revenue department. Also, funds will be released under the National Health Mission (NHM). We have an adequate budget under SDRF for containment and management of SDRF. The deputy commissioner will release funds for the district, ” said Arora, refusing to comment on the total amount sanctioned by the state.

Amit Khatri, deputy commissioner, was unavailable for comment.