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Telangana govt, private hospitals quarantine mild Covid patients in hotels

Hindustan Times, Hyderabad | BySrinivasa Rao Apparasu | Edited by Ashutosh Tripathi
Jul 28, 2020 08:16 PM IST

Telangana chief secretary submitted an affidavit in the state high court on Tuesday stating that a quarantine facility had been provided in as many as 857 rooms in various hotels in the state.

Following a steep surge in the number of Covid1-9 positive cases, the Telangana government and also private hospitals have entered into a tie-up with various hotels to provide quarantine facilities for patients suffering from mild symptoms.

While some of the corporate hospitals in Hyderabad have entered into a tie-up with star hotels to quarantine the people with mild symptoms of Covid-19, the Telangana government has roped in the state tourism department to provide accommodation to the patients.

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“We have recently entered into an understanding with various star hotels in Hyderabad to provide a quarantine facility for those Covid-19 patients who do not need hospitalisation. Most of these patients do not want to undergo home quarantine for various reasons – stigma attached to the disease, lack of proper isolation facility at home and even panic situation among the family members,” Telangana Super Speciality Hospitals’ Association (TSSHA) president Bollineni Bhaskar Rao told Hindustan Times.

Since almost all the star hotels have been running in losses due to poor occupancy despite the lifting of lockdown norms, they have readily come forward to provide quarantine facilities for those having mild symptoms.

“The hospitals with whom we have a tie-up will ensure that all precautions are taken to prevent spread of the virus in the hotel,” an executive working for a three-star hotel in Begumpet said on the condition of anonymity.

According to Bhaskar Rao, the star hotels charge around Rs 8,000 to Rs 12,000 per day from the patient for providing the room facility, depending on the status of the hotel. “This includes breakfast, lunch and dinner as per the diet chart provided by the hospital. Medicines and other essentials like masks, gloves and sanitisers should be bought by the patients,” he said.

The doctors from the hospital will closely monitor the health condition of the patient on a day-to-day basis and also ensure a proper nursing facility for them. If it is required, the doctors will immediately shift the patient to the hospital.

There are other medium-range hotels which are offering a similar facility for the Covid-19 patients at a lesser rate, ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per day.

On the other hand, the Telangana tourism department has also started accommodating the Covid-19 patients in its “Haritha” hotels in Hyderabad and resorts in the districts.

“In the initial days of pandemic, we provided a quarantine facility for people coming from abroad and other states in our Haritha Hotels and Resorts at Vikarabad and Dulapalli. Now, with the increase in Covid-19 cases, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has instructed that all the Haritha Hotels could be converted into quarantine centres,” Telangana tourism development corporation managing director B Manohar said.

These tourism hotels, too, charge the patients Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500 per day depending on the location and facilities. “We provide healthy and nutrient food to the patients. We have allocated dedicated executives for these hotels exclusively to monitor the Covid-19 patients,” he said.

Telangana chief secretary Somesh Kumar submitted an affidavit in the state high court on Tuesday stating that a quarantine facility had been provided in as many as 857 rooms in various hotels in the state. “As of now, 248 people have been accommodated in the hotels,” he said.

The high court suggested that poor people who cannot afford hotel expenses should be provided a quarantine facility in function halls, community centres and welfare association halls.

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