With the rising number of positive cases and limited number of beds in government isolation centres, the district administration of Bokaro is planning to turn hotels into paid isolation centres for asymptomatic affluent patients.

Sub-divisional officer (SDO), Chas, Shashi Prakash Singh, along with civil surgeon Dr A K Pathak on Friday held a meeting with the owners of about a dozen hotels to understand their views on the matter.

Earlier in March, the district administration had turned 10 luxurious hotels into pay and use quarantine centres. Now the administration is trying to turn these hotels into paid isolation centres for the residents, especially those belonging to the affluent class in the district. The paid isolation facility model is already functional in Ranchi and a few other cities of Jharkhand.

Of the 211 active cases in the district, barring three, all are asymptomatic and undergoing treatment in dedicated Covid Hospital, Bokaro General Hospital (BGH) and Covid Care Centre in Camp-2 of the district health department.

Among the recent spike of 71 cases on Wednesday and 12 positive cases on Thursday, there are many people belonging to affluent families, who are hesitating in getting admitted in the Covid wards due to lack of adequate facilities. They requested the administration to come up with paid isolation centres in hotels similar to the ones available in other districts.

SDO Singh said, “In the meeting, I asked hotel owners to turn their hotels into paid isolation centres. They will have to declare room charges before the administration so that we can have a discussion on it. Health department will provide doctors and other medical help to the patients availing the paid isolation facility in these hotels. However, it is upto the hotel owners whether they want to come up with a paid isolation centre or not.”

Administration and health department will closely monitor the patients in hotels. Hotels will have to make arrangements of hygiene, regular sanitisation, medical gadgets like oximeter, sugar and BP testing tools, etc. The medicines including multivitamins, vitamin-c will be provided by the health department.

The hospitality industry which has been badly affected in this Covid crisis can see this as an opportunity of earning revenue.

Zaika resort situated in the outskirts at Pindrajoda near the Jharkhand- West Bengal border has started a paid isolation facility that got functional from Thursday night. It got its first lot of seven Covid-19 positive patients, all officials of banks, for its deluxe rooms. They all are asymptomatic.

“We have a hanging basket in the balcony of each of these rooms through where food and snacks are served to patients. Waiters or anyone are restricted to go on that floor,” said Vikram Shanan, proprietor of Zaika Resort.

The SDO and civil surgeon inspected the resort and gave necessary instructions to Shanan. The resort is situated in a secluded place on the Chas-Purulia road, and the amenity belongs to the tourism department which it has outsourced to Zaika group.

However, a few hoteliers fear that keeping positive patients may affect their business in the future.