Gurugram The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has halted its plans for setting up a 100-bed isolation centre in Sector 27, officials said on Friday.
The move comes after divisional commissioner Ashok Sangwan said that the number of Covid-19 cases in Gurugram has “stabilized” and hence, there is no need for starting any new facility.
As per the MCG officials privy to the matter, Sangwan had also told senior officials of the civic body that currently there is little scope for using the isolation centre and there is no point spending government funds unnecessarily.
In the last week of June, MCG had finalised a community centre in Sector 27 as a potential site for establishing an isolation centre where Covid-19 patients, who need oxygen support, could be given treatment free of cost.
For the project, the civic body that had received 50 beds from a private company under corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds was looking at tying up with doctors.
Overall, the facility was to have more than 100 beds and would have cost MCG around Rs 30 lakh. MCG was aiming at starting the facility from mid-August. Depending on the success of its pilot project, the civic body had decided to replicate this model in other parts of the city.
“Adhering to the divisional commissioner’s direction, we have halted the isolation centre project for the interim. Since there is low occupancy in Covid-19 hospitals, it was felt that the facility would have little purpose presently. However, we have kept 50 beds in the facility so that it can be quickly converted into a full-fledged isolation centre whenever required,” said Hariom Attri, joint commissioner, MCG.
{{/usCountry}}“Adhering to the divisional commissioner’s direction, we have halted the isolation centre project for the interim. Since there is low occupancy in Covid-19 hospitals, it was felt that the facility would have little purpose presently. However, we have kept 50 beds in the facility so that it can be quickly converted into a full-fledged isolation centre whenever required,” said Hariom Attri, joint commissioner, MCG.
{{/usCountry}}During a visit to the facility early this week, Sangwan had said, “On most days, the city is registering less than 100 new cases. The number of overall cases is also coming down. There is also low occupancy of Covid-19 beds in hospitals, so there is little requirement of any new facility at the moment.”
He further said that the facility would serve as a good standby whenever there is a requirement. “We have a plan for 400-500 beds to be kept as backup and this facility would be a part of them,” said Sangwan.
As per official figures, only 22% of the city’s Covid-19 beds -- 335 out of total 1,486 -- were occupied till July 23.
An MCG official said that another reason for putting the project on halt was that Haryana government is facing a shortage of funds. “The Haryana government is currently under a monetary crisis, and so austerity measures are adopted. Besides spending Rs 30 lakh in infrastructure and medical equipment, MCG would also have to bear expenses for day-to-day operations and consulting fees of doctors. So, the project has been put on hold indefinitely,” said the MCG official.