The AMRI Hospitals will shut down its satellite facility for Covid-19 patients in Sector V as very few patients are taking admission there and running the unit was proving to be economically unviable, an official of the hospital said.

The state government had on June 15 said private hospitals could set up “satellite facilities” for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients or those with mild symptoms, to free up beds reserved for such cases.

Rupak Barua, the Group CEO of AMRI Hospitals, said on Monday very few rooms in their satellite unit at Monotel, a four-star facility in Sector V, had been occupied since the beginning of November.

“We set up the satellite facility in July. Between July and October, the occupancy was very good. But after Durga Puja, and especially during November, the occupancy has been very poor. We are shutting down the facility,” said Barua.

He said less than 10 patients are there now.

The hospital had booked 20 rooms in the hotel and had to pay for all the rooms irrespective of whether patients were staying there or not. “When it was set up, people with mild symptoms were willing to get admitted to hospital. They were sent to the satellite facility. Nowadays, people are preferring to stay at home if they have mild symptoms. So the occupancy at the satellite facility has been very poor over the past few days,” Barua said.

Only five to seven rooms were remaining occupied recently, he added.

In the early days of the pandemic, with the number of Covid-19 cases increasing every day, most hospitals were struggling to admit patients. People who tested positive but had mild or no symptoms were being advised home isolation.

But many such patients feared their families would be ostracised if they stayed at home. Quite a few stayed with their elderly parents and in-laws. The concept of satellite facilities was mooted to accommodate such patients.

“People who get admitted to the satellite facility are examined by a doctor every day. Nurses, stationed at the hotel round the clock, monitor the patients’ health. Oxygen support is available, too. The stay at the satellite facility costs Rs 7,000 a day,” said an official of AMRI Hospitals.

Barua said Covid-19 patients were sent to the satellite facility only after a thorough check-up. If doctors found that the patients needed hospitalisation, the patients and their family were told about the doctor’s observations.

Reflective cycle stickers

The Bidhannagar commissionerate on Monday launched a drive where traffic policemen stopped bicycles and pasted retro reflective tapes on their rear mudguards and carriers in Sector V.

The number of bicycles in Sector V and New Town has doubled since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many office-goers are using bicycles to avoid public transport.

“Most bicycles don’t have rear warning lights.... The stickers will light up when the headlights of a vehicle fall on them,” said a senior officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate.