In an attempt to ease the city’s medical infrastructure, which is straining under the surge of COVID-19 cases, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will establish 10 more COVID-19 Care Centres (CCCs) that will be made operational in three days. With this, there will be over 1,500 additional beds available for people who cannot isolate themselves at home.
The two operational centres at Haj Bhavan and HAL’s Ghatage Convention Centre, which have 200 beds each, are filling up fast. According to civic officials, these two centres have reported 70% occupancy even though many patients are opting for home isolation.
As on April 14, of the 63,167 active cases, 88.13% have opted for home isolation, and 11.80% have either been shifted to CCCs or hospitals.
Harsh summer causes delay
Though the Koramangala Indoor Stadium with over 200 beds is ready, the BBMP is unwilling to open it. Senior officials said that this was because the structure emits a lot of heat.
“It is not suitable to admit patients there. We are keeping this facility as the last option,” an official said and added that unless air coolers or fans are installed, the facility cannot be operationalised.
Local route
BBMP’s Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta has directed officials to identify locations for smaller CCCs, with 50-bed capacity, in the eight different zones.
“Last year, big facilities were opened. However, we found that people were not willing to travel to a facility far away from their residence. Hence, it was decided to have smaller facilities in each zone,” an official said.
Hotels to step in again
Several private centres are likely to be set up soon. These facilities are being set up by hotels in association with private hospitals.
According to P.C. Rao, president of Bruhat Bangalore Hotels’ Association, by Saturday, 10 private CCCs will be ready. “Already, four CCCs are ready to be opened and six hotels are in the process of tying up with private medical establishments. Depending on demand, more hotels may come forward to convert their facilities into CCCs,” he said.
Last year, following the outbreak of the pandemic, many hotels had been converted into CCCs and quarantine facilities for travellers from other States and countries.
