56 fresh COVID-19 cases in T'gana; State govt readies 1500- bedded hospital in just 20 days

Telangana has readied a 1,500-bedhospital here in just 20 days by transforming a 14-storied tower in a sports complex into a special medical facility for COVID-19 cases, even as 56 cases were reported on Tuesday, pushing the number of active cases in the state to 711.About a 1,000-strong workforce sweated it out to convert the tower, part of the sports complex, built in 2002, into a full-fledged coronavirus hospital with 50 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, a senior official of the Telangana government involved in the execution of the healthcare centre, said.He said the the facility is now ready to accommodate patients.The official said that the state government has proved that not only China,which reportedly built a makeshift 1,000- bedded hospital in just 10 days in Wuhan at the peak of the coronavirus spread, but also Telangana can do wonders in terms of making quick decisions and execution of plans.The Telangana State Medical Services Infrastructure Development Corporation (TSMSIDC) undertook the task and finished it in less than three weeks."It is a refurbished hospital. They used the first seven floors a decade ago. The remaining six floors were in semi- finished condition and never put to use.As soon as we got the nod from the state government we started working on that made it ready in 20 days. The hospital is now ready to take patients," the official told PTI.Another official said as many as 400 doctors and double the number of nursing staff can work at the new facility.Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had on April 19 said the hospital will later be converted into a super- specialty hospital, known as the Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (TIMS).Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases continued to surge in the state, with 56 reported on Tuesday.The total number of cases reported mounted to 928, a health department bulletin said.No death was reported on Tuesday and the number of people who succumbed to the virus stood at 23. Eight persons were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of cured and or discharged to 194.Suryapet district, about 135 km from Hyderabad, emerged as a hot spot with 26 fresh cases reported on Tuesday.The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area continued to witness a rise in cases with 19 being reported from the city.Most of the COVID-19 cases in the state are from GHMC.Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao asked the Chief Secretary, DGP and other senior officials to visit different districts to monitor how the measures initiated to contain the spread of COVID-19 are being implemented.As per his instructions, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP Mahender Reddy and other officials would visit Suryapet, Gadwal and Vikarabad districts on Wednesday, an official release said.The state government has decided to depute three IAS officers to affected areas in Vikarabad, Gadwal and Suryapet districts and then submit reports to the Chief Secretary, official sources said.Health authorities in Telangana have decided not to take samples from the bodies of those suspected to have died with symptoms of COVID-19, but follow all due protocols, including disposal of the body, contact tracing of the person, isolation and testing by treating it as a suspect case."Whatever the protocols are followed for a positive case will be followed," a health official said.Meanwhile, the lockdown was implemented more strictly in the state by police and a special drive was conducted in the city against those roaming on vehicles unnecessarily. The vehicles of violators were seized.A case was registered against a 38-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh after he allegedly spit on the road when a police patrolling team found him roaming in Nacharam area by violating the lockdown norms.The man argued with police personnel and spit on the road when they asked him the reasons for moving on the road, police said.The state government has disallowed spitting in public places in the state in the wake of COVID-19 spread.The Chief Minister had on Sunday last announced extension of ongoing lockdown in the state till May 7.

56 fresh COVID-19 cases in T'gana; State govt readies 1500- bedded hospital in just 20 days

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