Safe homes for asymptomatic patients and people with mild symptoms

Kolkata: As most of the hospitals in the city are it government or private are falling short of capacities, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is planning to set up safe homes for the asymptomatic patients and the ones with mild symptoms. These homes shall facilitate 2,000 beds for their patients and shall provide shelter to the ones who are in no need of immediate hospitalization.

Such a decision was finalized at a meeting at Uttirna, Alipore. Here, Firhad Hakim, the state urban development minister had an interaction with the physicians and bureaucrats who are in charge of the Covid-combat squad in the state. Immediately after Hakim took into account the infrastructure of KMC, the civic body took the decision to provide a large safe home located in Anandapur and shall provide room to 700 patients. According to a source, KMC shall make use of the state government building, Uttirna to create room for 500 beds.

KMC shall also make use of Gitanjali stadium to provide shelter to 200 patients. The civic authorities have already made use of the Kishore Bharati stadium to make space for 100 patients. A health department member from KMC stated, “We have planned to augment its capacity to 500”. In addition to Kishore Bharati stadium, KMC has constructed a safe home at Topsia with a capacity of 80 at the early stage.

Patients residing in areas like EM Bypass or its adjacent south Kolkata neighbourhoods may find space in the safe homes located at Anandapur, Kishore Bharati and Gitanjali.

During the height of the pandemic season in the previous year, KMC had made use of the Gitanjali stadium. The stadium can provide room to more than 400 asymptomatic people. KMC has arranged 300 beds at the Anandapur safe home. With an improvement in the Covid scenario, the stadiums that were converted into safe homes were all dismantled. In addition to the construction of safe homes, the civic body is also reopening a quarantine centre at Rajarhat.