Ludhiana admn reserves 950 beds in hotels and govt facilities to foreign returnees

800 beds were reserved in hotels, while 150 in government facilities

The district administration has reserved 950 beds in hotels and government buildings inside Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) to quarantine foreign returnees, said Sanyam Aggarwal, nodal officer, Covid-19, Ludhiana, on Friday.

Stranded non-resident Indians (NRIs) boarding a bus from Ludhiana to take them to Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, on Friday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

He said that while 800 beds have been reserved in hotels, 150 are in PAU.

Stating that currently there are eight foreign returnees in the district, he said that Ludhiana is expected more influx in the coming days.

In a press statement issued here on Friday, Aggarwal informed that around 250 persons have confirmed about their return to the city to the district administration. We are expecting nearly 1,000 such persons as many of them will also be accompanied by their family members. He said that majority of these people are from Dubai, United States of America, Canada, Australia and United Arab Emirates.

The nodal officer said all persons will be screened for Covid-19. If a person is symptomatic, their samples would be taken, but in case they don’t show any symptoms on arrival, their samples will be taken after they complete the 14-day quarantine period, Aggarwal said.

He stated those found positive for Covid-19 would be shifted either to the Ludhiana civil hospital, or the Mother Child Hospital near Vardhman, here.

He said those staying at the government facilities will be charged ₹500 for double occupancy and ₹300 for single occupancy. These also include the food charges.

He said the district administration had tied up with hotels, where foreign returnees can stay on payment basis. He said the charges of private hotels start from ₹1,300 per day, including food, for single occupancy and the room can be shared between two persons if they belong to the same family. He said around 20 hotels with 800 rooms have registered themselves with the district administration in Ludhiana. He said the people will be given an option to stay in a hotel or in a government facility.