Odisha government has taken a series of measures to combat the COVID-19 crisis

:Bhubaneswar:29 /3/20:Amid fear of community spread of the coronavirus looming large following a man with no history of travelling abroad tested positive for COVID-19 in the state, the Odisha government has taken a series of measures including augmentation of hospitals’ capacity to combat the crisis, officials said.

With financial assistance from the Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) and the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), an elaborate arrangement has been made to set up two dedicated hospitals for COVID-19 patients with a total of 950 beds in the state capital, he said.

A similar facility with 700 beds will also be established at Tangi near Cuttack for people suspected to be infected with coronavirus.

This apart, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar, is all set to make available an exclusive unit with 206 beds in its campus for treatment of such patients.

Around 20 ventilators are kept ready while orders have been placed for 40 more which will be delivered by next month, AIIMS-Bhubaneswar Director B Gitanjali said.

“We have sufficient consumables and kits to deal with the emerging situation. We have also set up a dedicated COVID-19 screening OPD for suspected cases,” she said.

The institute will introduce tele-medicine programme for providing necessary information to people on the deadly virus, the official said.

“AIIMS, Bhubaneswar has also been permitted to conduct tests for COVID-19, and the institute has already started examining samples free of cost,” she said.

Moreover, arrangements at the Ayush complex of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar for an isolation unit have been made as part of its measures to grapple with the emerging situation, she said.

Similarly, the government has decided to temporarily reserve around 500 beds with ICU facilities, exclusively for COVID-19 patients, in Ganjam district, which witnessed influx of a large number of migrant workers from other states.

The state government’s drive to contain the outbreak gained momentum after detection of the third COVID-19 case in the state on Thursday, another official said.