A massive COVID-Care Centre with over 10,000 beds is set to be opened at the Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) in the city.
It is set to be the largest COVID-Care Centre in Karnataka and will house COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.
BIEC, a sprawling venue on the outskirts of Bengaluru city, was earlier the space used by authorities to shelter migrant workers looking to leave the city for their homes after the lockdown over the coronavirus outbreak was imposed.
On Sunday, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner BH Anil Kumar visited the centre along with BJP MLA SR Vishwanath to inspect the facility. "The centre is well-ventilated, has an adequate number of toilets, nursing stations, kitchens and other required facilities," Anil Kumar stated.
Karnataka government officials are dealing with a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru.
As of July 5, the city has recorded 8,345 COVID-19 cases of which 7,250 are currently active. Bengaluru reported 1,172 COVID-19 cases on Saturday.
Due to the sharp spike in cases in Bengaluru in the past week, civic officials in the city have started converting indoor stadiums and ashrams into COVID-Care Centres. Officials also released a list of 16 government hospitals and 73 private hospitals where COVID-19 patients will be admitted.
In multiple incidents, residents in the city struggled to find hospitals willing to admit patients with COVID-19 or breathing issues, prompting officials to announce that the BESCOM's 1912 helpline number can now be used to inform grievances about hospitals denying patients beds.
In one incident reported in the city, a 65-year-old man, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Friday, collapsed and died on the road outside his house while he was waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
BBMP Commissioner Anil Kumar apologised to the victim's family for the incident after the ambulance did not arrive for over 3 hours.
(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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