KOCHI: Putting an end to the speculation over the temporary takeover of the defunct PVS Memorial Hospital at Kaloor, the district administration has finally decided to take over the hospital to convert it into a quarantine centre and accommodate suspected Covid-19 patients.
Fort Kochi sub-collector Snehil Kumar Singh, who was appointed as an incident commander to implement Covid-19 containment measures, issued an order on Thursday to take over the hospital. Kanayannur tahsildar Beena P Anand will be the implementing officer of the order.
TNIE with the headline ‘PVS Hospital may be resurrected as quarantine centre’ had reported the district administration’s move to take over the property. Though it was one of the buildings shortlisted for takeover, the administration delayed it. However, the district administration finally decided to go ahead in the wake of the rise in the number of suspected Covid-19 cases in the district.
The hospital, which was closed down nearly a year ago due to financial issues, is equipped to accommodate over 500 patients at a time. Since the hospital was closed for several months, the district administration has to establish electricity, water supply and deploy staff before admitting the patients.
“Officers have already been deployed for setting up facilities in the hospital. Within one or two days, the hospital will be completely equipped. The cleaning works are going on in full swing,” said District Collector S Suhas when asked about the takeover of the hospital.