Dehradun: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium soon to be converted into 2000-bed COVID-19 hospital

In view of increasing number of coronavirus cases, the Uttarakhand government has decided to convert Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium into a fully-equipped wellness centre to treat Covid-19 patients.

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand government has decided to convert Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium into a fully-equipped wellness center to treat COVID-19 patients.

The decision to convert the stadium into temporary health facility was taken by the state Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, in the wake of increasing number of coronavirus cases.

With 81 fresh cases, tally of Covid-19 patients reached 2,023 in Uttarakhand on Wednesday. While the state had seen barely 100 cases in the initial two months of the infection (March 15-May 15), the number has crossed 2,000 count in the past one month.

As per reports, the process of transforming the stadium into temporary health facility is being carried out under the supervision of COVID-19 care nodal officer and IG Sanjay Gunjyal. In addition to this, Uttarakhand Police Force and State Disaster Response Force are engaged in construction work of the 2000-bed makeshift hospital.

The hospital which would have all facilities starting from isolation to treatment, is being said to be the biggest COVID-19 care hospital in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

"The construction work of temporary COVID-19 care hospital is in full swing and so far, we have placed more than 100 beds and will hand over it to the Uttarakhand health department in next few days," said SDRF circle officer Prakash Dewali.

Presently, the state has only two hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients, which are unable to accommodate the growing number of cases of infection.

"Here, at the stadium, soon to be makeshift hospital, we have arranged a canteen facility so that patients can get a healthy, hygienic and nutritious diet," added Dewali.

As per information received, the hospital will not only focus on treating COVID-19 patients but also aim at boosting their immunity, which is most important to battle coronavirus. For which, yoga and meditation classes will run in the facility 24x7, to take care of the mental well being of the patients as well.

To ensure social distance, LED screens have been set up at the hospital to keep a check on violators.