Dharan, April 27

COVID-19 special hospital with 100 beds has come into operation at BP Koirala Institute of Health and Sciences in Dharan, Sunsari, from yesterday.

BPKIHS Vice-chancellor Dr Gyanendra Giri said level-3 COVID-19 patients would receive treatment at the special hospital. Dr Giri added that 13 ICU beds would be in place and the special COVID-19 hospital would operate separately even though it was on the premises of the institute. Dr Giri informed that as many as 500 beds could be set up if necessary.

Province 1 Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai, Social Development Minister Jiban Ghimire, among others, inspected the hospital. CM Rai said that the provincial government had taken preventive and precautionary measure to fight against the deadly virus.

CM Rai thanked newly appointed Vice-chancellor Dr Giri for his effort to bring the hospital into operation within a week. CM Rai further said that Province 1 was working to manage the treatment facility with full preparation.

“The hospital with 100 beds was established within a week and more beds could be added on the same premises,” he added. CM Rai said that everybody had been working hard to fight against COVID-19.

Minister Ghimire said testing had been expanded as Udayapur had emerged as the most affected district in the province.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on April 28, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.