Paid isolation facilities at 2 Dhanbad hotels

Sindri: To handle the spike in coronavirus cases in the coal belt, a hotel and a resort in Dhanbad will be converted into paid isolation centres for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients from Wednesday. After signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kings Resort and Wedlock Green Hotels and Resorts on Tuesday, the district administration said patients here will be under strict observation of doctors at Dwarka Das Jalan Asian Hospital and Patliputra Nursing Home.

Dhanbad is among four of 24 districts in the state with a total tally more than 1,000 Covid cases. After witnessing it’s biggest single-day spike with 95 new infections on Monday, the state caseload on Tuesday morning stood at 1,140, of which 525 are active cases, 596 have recovered and 19 have died so far, state government data said.

Officials from the district health department will provide training to hotel staff regarding the protocols to be followed on hygiene while taking care of the patients, especially while serving food and disposing the leftovers. The hotel managements have also been asked to provide gloves, PPE kits and masks to the staff besides making arrangements for oximetres and thermal scanners to monitoring the health of the patients.

An official said, “The district administration will also depute nodal officers and magistrates at the hotel to ensure adherence with protocols and coordinated between the hotels and hospitals so that patients who are critical can quickly be shifted to higher medical centers,” said an official.

Vivek Poddar, director of the Wedlock Greens, said, “We have 50 isolation rooms in the resort and daily charges for paid isolation will be Rs 4,000 plus taxes. The rate for Kings Resort has been fixed at Rs 3,900 plus taxes.”