Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared Monday that five more COVID-19 hospitals are ready to provide service to coronavirus patients in five districts like Angul, Bargarh, Jagatsinghpur, Nabarangpur and Sudargarh of Odisha.
CM Patnaik interacted with the doctors and health workers through video conferencing during the opening of these hospitals. Union Steel, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Coal, Mining, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and Odisha Health Minister Naba Das had joined the inaugural ceremony of the hospital through video conferencing.
These five hospitals are being operational in the respective districts with a bed capacity of 825. However, the state’s dedicated COVID-19 hospitals are now functional in 26 districts with a bed capacity of 5000.
These hospitals are being set up to strengthen the state’s preparedness in the fight against COVID-19. The CM had earlier directed to open at least one dedicated COVID-19 hospital in each of the 30 districts.
These hospitals will provide specialised treatment to the patients free of cost.
“Odisha is today a front runner in coronavirus management in the country by putting in place an early preparedness mechanism with text book precision”, said Patnaik.
Speaking at the opening function of the hospitals, the Chief Minister said that it’s a war we have to win. He further said that Odisha has established Covid hospitals with 5000 beds in a record time within 30 days.
He appreciated the efforts of the district administrations for the successful establishment of these hospitals. He also appreciated the sacrifices made by doctors, health workers and their family members. He also thanked the Government of India PSUs – NTPC, MCL, IOCL, PPT and Nalco for the support to these hospitals.
Union Minister Pradhan appreciated the efforts made by Odisha in the fight against the deadly virus. He said that Odisha is a leading state in the fight against Covid-19 and has put in place a robust health mechanism. He expressed confidence that Odisha will be highly successful in containing coronavirus.
Union Minister Joshi appreciated the steps taken by the State Government in the fight against Covid 19. He expressed hope that Odisha and India will certainly come out of the crisis soon. He informed that Nalco and MCL employees have contributed Rs.2.5 crore to the Odisha CMRF.
While 150 bedded COVID-19 hospital at Angul will be managed by SUM hospital Bhubaneswar and supported by MCL, the 200 bedded COVID-19 hospital at Bargarh will be managed by Vikash Multispecialty hospital and supported by IOCL.
The 200 bedded hospital at Sundergarh will be managed by district administration through DMF and with support of NTPC. The 75 bedded hospital at Paradeep will be managed by the district administration with support from Govt of Odisha and Paradeep Port Trust. The 200 bedded Covid health care centre at Nabarangpur will be managed by district administration and Christian hospital with the support of Nalco.
Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy gave the welcome address and Development Commissioner Suresh Mohapatra offered the vote of thanks. Principal Secretary, Health and other senior officers of the State and PSUs were also present.
PNN
