Government Medical College in Ernakulam to become Kerala’s first coronavirus treatment centre

Nearly 90% of the patients under treatment have either been shifted to other hospitals or discharged

March 23, 2020 12:54 pm | Updated 01:24 pm IST - Kochi

Patients being shifted from Government Medical College in Ernakulam to other hospitals.

Patients being shifted from Government Medical College in Ernakulam to other hospitals.

The Government Medical College in Ernakulam, a 500-bed facility, is being converted into the State’s first COVID-19 treatment centre.

On Sunday, the hospital authorities started shifting patients to other hospitals. Nearly 90% of the patients have either been shifted or discharged, and only the seriously-ill patients remain at the hospital. They will be shifted once their treatment in other hospitals are ensured.

COVID-19 | Interactive map of confirmed coronavirus cases in India

The wards at GMC in Ernakulam are being cleaned.

As most of the COVID-19 positive cases are reported at the airport here and brought to the hospital, it was decided to convert the hospital into a treatment centre. Besides, the possibility of risk to other patients in the hospital increased with more cases getting admitted in the isolation ward.

Ernakulam District Collector had invoked Section 2 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 to convert the hospital into a treatment centre.

The dialysis unit and emergency OP alone would function at GMC.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.