Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], May 29 (ANI): Strengthening healthcare facilities in Jammu and Kashmir amid the second wave of the COVID-19, Lieutenant General Manoj Sinha on Saturday dedicated a 500-bedded hospital by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to the public.

According to an official, a 500-bed hospital dedicated to the public in Jammu today and another hospital will be set up in Kashmir soon.

In order to meet the growing need for beds in the Union Territory (UT), the DRDO had started working on two such projects in the region, completing the 500-bedded facility at a COVID hopsital in Jammu within a period of 3 weeks.

"The facility has a total of 125 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, along with facilities like X-Ray and pharmacy. The specialist doctors and paramedic staff will be available at this facility," Atal Dulloo, the Financial Commissioner Health, and Medical Education department told ANI.

Speaking about the efforts taken by the administration to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in rural areas, Dullo informed that Panchayat, schools, and community buildings are temporarily being converted into COVID Care Centres to isolate people infected with the virus and provide them better treatment.

The official informed that a committee has been formed to prepare a report for the expected third wave of the pandemic.

Appreciating and thanking the DRDO for the well-equipped facility, Dr Renu Sharma, Director of Health in Jammu, said that this initiative has increased the bed capacity for COVID patients in the UT by 500, along with sufficient oxygen capacity.

"It would have definitely been challenging for the DRDOs engineering department to turn a barren land into a proper hospital with all facilities," she said.

Sharma mentioned that the facility can also be seen as a part of the preparation for the third wave, as the number of infections during the second wave has started declining.

he expressed her concerns over the high COVID death rate in the UT and appealed to all to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Presently, the UT has 41,382 active cases of COVID-19, while it has witnessed 3,795 deaths so far. (ANI)

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