COVID-19: 200 additional isolation beds readied at Gandhinagar govt hospital in Jammu

The number of isolation beds has been increased to 290 at the government hospital in Gandhinagar here to treat COVID-19 patients, an official said on Friday. Preparations are underway to set up additional isolation rooms and wards, and intensive care unit beds, Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education Department, Atal Dulloo said. Four more persons, two with travel history to abroad, have tested positive for the coronavirus in the Union Territory, taking the total number of cases to 18. The newly constructed block of the Gandhinagar hospital will have a capacity of 200 isolation beds. This is in addition to the 90 isolation beds at the hospital, Dulloo said. Dulloo was at the hospital to take stock of works in the new block that is being converted entirely to treat COVID-19 patients.

The 200-bed newly constructed block will be made functional within a couple of days, Dulloo said. The decision for dedicating the Gandhinagar hospital and other associated hospitals of the Government Medical College, Jammu, for treating COVID-19 cases was taken during a recent meeting to augment isolation facilities, he said. The government has also ordered suspension of non-urgent operations and other treatments to free up capacity to deal with COVID-19 cases.  "We have decided to dedicate the Gandhinagar hospital, chest diseases hospital and psychiatry hospital in Jammu entirely for COVID-19 patients. However, we have to ensure that our critical care services in other hospitals must not suffer," Dulloo said. He said that other operations of these hospitals have to be reduced in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

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