Forty nine covid centres across eight zones, beds remain vacant
Bengaluru: Only 31.02 percent of beds are occupied out of 1270 beds available in covid care centres, across eight zones in Bengaluru. Dr. Amulya TS, Nodal Officer at Karmikara Bhavana, Dasarahalli zone said only 21 beds out of 107 beds are occupied. She said, “We take in patients who show moderate to mild symptoms but I think people are still not aware of the centres, so the number of occupancy is not high.”
Situation is similar in other Covid care centres. Dr. Venkatesh, Nodal officer at University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK said, “There are 380 beds in total out of which only 110 beds are occupied, four patients are asymptomatic and 106 patients are symptomatic.”
The BBMP Marshall at Koramangala Indoor Stadium said that only 25 to 30 beds were occupied out of 200 beds at the centre.
The BBMP website showed that there are 49 functional Covid care centres/traige centres across eight zones. These centres in total have 1784 regular beds and 1003 oxygenated beds. Covid care centres in Bengaluru were first set up in Bengaluru to quarantine asymptomatic patients, however when the cases started rising in the second wave the centres were set up with oxygenated beds and patients with mild to moderate symptoms were also being admitted.
Gagandeep, a resident of JP Nagar said, “I isolated myself at home, I just had mild to moderate symptoms and after 14 days I tested negative. I did not think it was necessary for me to get admitted at a CCC since I stayed alone.”
Dr. Nagasachin, from Sassoon General Hospital said, “A person should isolate or get admitted to the hospital depending on the severity of their situation. If a person is showing mild symptoms it is preferable to stay at home locked in a separate room with a separate bathroom and with necessary precautions, but if you cannot isolate yourselves at home and risk infecting others, only then it is advisable to go to a CCC.” He added that patients showing moderate to severe symptoms should always get admitted to a hospital.
