Odisha designates 3 hotels in Bhubaneswar for coronavirus quarantine

Those quarantined will be served breakfast, lunch, dinner and two bottles of water for a daily payment of Rs 2,500 plus taxes.

A day after the Kejriwal government in Delhi allowed three luxury hotels near the India Gandhi international airport to offer quarantine facilities for a price, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation designated three hotels in the city as “pay and use” quarantine facilities.

The Kalinga Ashok Hotel in Bhubaneswar which is one of the three hotels designated to serve as quarantien centres ona pay and use basis. (HT PHOTO)

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation commissioner Pem Chandra Chaudhury in an order allowed three hotels - Ginger Hotel, Empires and Hotel Kalinga Ashok to quarantine people suspected of coronavirus at Rs 2500 a day plus taxes. Those quarantined will be served breakfast, lunch, dinner and two bottles of water.

“A large number of quarantine facilities are needed to contain the spread of Covid-19 for which most of the government buildings as per the suitability have already been designated as quarantine facilities. It appears pay and use quarantine facility is also an essential requirement to contain the spread of Covid-19 and the quarantined persons at their own cost may also like to avail the pay and use facility in private hotels if they desire. These hotels are declared as quarantine facilities and the facilities can be availed on payment,” said the commissioner in an order.

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The maximum number of days a person can avail the quarantine facility is 14. The hotels and the guests would have to adhere to the quarantine protocol as issued by the health and family welfare department. BMC will send designated medical officers who will visit as per need basis and keep regular contact over phone with the persons availing quarantine facilities.

Earlier Wednesday, the government spokesperson on coronavirus, Subroto Bagchi said 540 beds are available in the 30 districts for quarantine purposes. Bagchi said the grampanchayats and blocks would be given Rs 5 lakh each from the coronavirus fund to build quarantine facilities.

At least 2,131 people returning from 80 countries have signed up with the Odisha government’’s portal for home quarantine. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik signed up with the government portal on Wednesday for home quarantine of his sister Gita Mehta, a renowned author who returned from the US. Similarly, Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingha Deb, the titular king of Puri, also opted for home quarantine after attending multiple programmes at Jagannath temples in different American cities over the last few days. To ensure that the quarantine regulations are adhered to, the state government will pay Rs 15,000 to each of the quarantined persons at the end of their 14-day isolation