150-bed Covid care centre opened at Bengaluru airport for patients with mild symptoms

A 150-bed Covid care centre with oxygen supply was opened at the Bengaluru airport on the city's northern outskirts to treat asymptomatic patients with mild hypoxia, said the operator on Wednesday.

"Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa inaugurated the 150-bed oxygenated Covid treatment centre at the Kempegowda international airport in Devanahalli," said its operator Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) in a statement here.

Though the treatment will be free, patients will have to pay for tests and medicines at the centre, located near the cargo terminal of the airport.

"The facility is designed to be a transit oxygen delivery centre and provide gas to patients with mild hypoxia, a condition in which the body or a part of it is deprived of adequate oxygen at the tissue level," said the statement.

The centre is open for the public and employees of the airport ecosystem. They should have their Aadhar card, prescription from a referral hospital and medical documents for admission and treatment.

The facility, however, is not equipped to treat pregnant women or moderate cases and those requiring high flow oxygen support or ICU beds. "The centre will soon be equipped with a pharmacy, pathology unit, nurses' station, rest rooms, dining area and drinking water," said the statement.

An ambulance will be on standby 24x7 at the centre for emergencies. All arrangements are being made for safe disposal of waste, including bio-waste. A panel of doctors, including Naresh Shetty, Nandakumar Jairam and Alexander Thomas will assist in the functioning of the centre.

Funded by Fairfax Financial Holdings Group, the major equity holder of the airport's consortium, the centre will be managed by the operator, Quess Corp Ltd and Kempegowda International Airport Foundation.

As epi-centre of the pandemic in the southern state, Bengaluru reported 11,772 new cases on Tuesday, taking its Covid tally to 10,84,844, including 3,23,281 active cases, while 218 patients succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours.