Demand to relocate isolation ward in Gandhi stings Eatala Rajender

Hyderabad: Gandhi Hospital becoming the nodal centre for coronavirus treatment has impacted the out-patient footfall considerably.

The fall in numbers, according to sources, had started from the time sample testing started in Gandhi Hospital and the numbers started to dip further after news of housing the first infected case in the State in the hospital for treatment.

On usual days, the OP footfall is in the range of 2,500 or above. However, on Tuesday and Thursday the number was nearly 1,700 and 1,200 respectively.

Citing this dip in patients' number and infection worries, some doctors from Gandhi are learnt to have made an appeal to shift Gandhi isolation ward to far-off place in the city.

Meanwhile, Padmaraonagar Division Residents' Welfare Association has requested the government to shift the coronavirus ward from Gandhi in view of thousands of residents living close by.

The virus that created panic in China reached Hyderabad and Gandhi at last and we are worried if it would impact residents living close by, an association member said.

When told that it was not an airborne disease, the member said that government should atleast distribute face masks to all patients coming to Gandhi as a safety precaution.

When told about this, Health Minister Eatala Rajender was very critical and found fault with the request at this hour. How can doctors be so ignorant about the manner in which the disease spreads?

On one hand, the government is trying to create awareness among public not to panic and on the other side we see this kind of attitude, he rued.

" 24 members of the infected techie's family and another 45 member staff from the corporate hospital where he was treated were not infected," he explained.