Ghaziabad: Isolation rooms in hotels for asymptomatic patients

GHAZIABAD: As many as 34 hotels have given consent to start a paid isolation facility for asymptomatic Covid patients. Officials said that of the 34 hotels, three have already given written consent and on that basis, the district administration has written to principal secretary, health and family welfare, seeking approval in this regard.
The owners have agreed to not give rooms to any other visitor once the isolation facility becomes functional in their hotels.

District magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey said, "So far, the owner of three hotels (Elite, Taru Inn and Inder) on Railway Road have given written consent to the health department saying that five rooms in each hotel would be reserved for doctors and paramedical staff. On their part, the district administration would provide all the necessary equipment, gloves, masks, sanitiser and PPE kits to the medical staff."
The DM added that the owners of the remaining ones, who have given their consent, have been asked to submit a similar written proposal for the government’s consideration.
The hotels have been divided in three categories depending on their price. For Elite and Taru Inn, the charges would be Rs 1,500 per bed per day and for Inder Hotel it is Rs 1,200 per day. There are altogether 115 rooms in the three hotels and 977 rooms in the others, officials said.
At present, home isolation of Covid-19 positive asymptomatic patients is not allowed, and all of them need to be admitted to a Covid hospital for treatment. With the steep rise in active cases, the health department is struggling to manage Covid facilities in the district. Sources said if the plan is approved by the government, it would save a lot of manpower and resources. Besides, it would also save the health department a lot of embarrassment that it has been facing owing to complaints of poor basic amenities and stale food being provided in such government-run facilities.