Hyderabad: Centre prod to turn guest houses in institutes into isolation facilities

Hyderabad: The Centre has asked all its central ministries to identify facilities under each of them which can be converted into quarantine and isolation centres.

Official sources in the National Academy of Agriculture Research and Management (NAARM), Central Research Institute of Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) in Telangana and Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI) in Rajamahendravaram said the Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) has sent a circular to all the institutes to immediately identify the facilities.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior official from the NAARM said the circular has come following a letter from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (UMoHFW).

The letter said given the cases being reported from over 110 countries, some of among them are reporting a large number of cases and deaths, the letter said that the States have been asked to identify the facilities.

Also, all Central Ministries are required to identify facilities like barracks or hall tye accommodation, guesthouses that are remotely located and have individual rooms which will serve the purpose to convert into isolation and quarantine centres, it said.

Accordingly, the ICAR has asked 65 National Institutes, 14 National Research Centers, 6 National Bureaux, 13 directorates and project directorates spread across the country to identify suitable facilities and send the details in a prescribed format at the earliest to the UMoMHF.

Currently, the institutions have prepared and some are preparing the details which are very specific to submit to the ministry, said a CIRD official.

The Institute has to give the name, address, email and phone number of the nodal officer of the facility along with the GPS coordinates.

It has specifically asked the distance to the nearby residential area, also, whether it is nearer to an area of gathering, like temples, stadiums, churches etc.

That apart, under the accessibility, the officials are asked to provide information regarding distance from the nearby airports, railway and bus stations, nearest territory, district hospitals, whether the centre is free from heavy traffic, and the road leading to it is wide enough to have two vehicles to move at a time.

That apart, the institutions were also asked about the number of floors, rooms, beds in each room and distance between the beds, availability of round the clock water and electricity supply.

Further, the UMoHFM asked to provide details of the facility equipped with centralised or individual airconditioning and, if individual air conditions are available, then, whether it is a split or window-mounted AC facility.

To address the specific issues related to converting the facilities into isolation centres, it has also wanted to know the capacity of the existing exhaust fans in each room Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) air exchange rate.

Separate exit and entry points for non-health professionals like housekeeping and catering, separate washrooms per person or per area, in-house mess facilities, separate resting facilities that could be used for doctors, nurses, paramedic, cleaning staff.

Linen Managemnet, infection control practices, reaction facilities, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) or written polices if any, transportation and other logistic facilities of patients to isolation centre were among the other details that the institute were asked to furnish.