Chandigarh wants residents to set up ‘micro Covid centres’ with beds & medical aid amid surge

Chandigarh administration has appealed to lawyers, accountants & traders among others to set up these micro Covid facilities in community centres of residential areas.

Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator V.P. Singh Badnore (right) with his advisor Manoj Parida | By special arrangement

Chandigarh: With the Covid-19 situation worsening in Chandigarh, the administration has appealed to various professional groups in the city to consider creating “micro Covid care facilities” in community centres located in residential areas.

The appeal was issued Monday morning by Manoj Parida, advisor to the Union Territory (UT) administrator.

“To reduce pressure on government infrastructure, groups and associations like those of advocates, architects, CAs, traders, PSUs should set up small Covid care centres with 10 or more beds for their members, under supervision of available health workers from private/govt sources,” read the government’s appeal.

“Our city should be dotted with such mini centres that provide bed, food, and care up to oxygen level,” it adds. “Our community centres are available. Some bhawans can be used. Philanthropists can fund a few of these meant for the poor only. Let’s join hands.”

Apart from more than two dozen community centres and halls in the city, there are almost a dozen bhawans that the administration is offering to be converted into Covid-19 care centres.

Appeal gets mixed response

The appeal has met with a mixed response from city residents.

“The proposal is no doubt very good and well-intentioned, considering what is going on in Delhi might happen to Chandigarh as well,” said Baltej Singh Sidhu, a senior advocate based in the city. “If the Chandigarh administration is ready to offer community centres to be converted into Covid care centres, then we will support the initiative. Funding also can be arranged to some extent. I, however, do see a problem in arranging well-trained medical staff to man the centres.”

“If the administration can provide trained staff from its own resources then the centre can be run professionally,” Sidhu added, saying, “Because if we are to hire doctors and staff and if something untoward happens in such a centre, then it will be difficult for us to cope with it.”

Aditya Nagrath, who heads the Sankalp foundation in Chandigarh, said funding could be another problem.

“It’s a good initiative but I am not sure whether it will be practical to actually implement it,” he said. “I have been working in the social service field for many years and I know that there are a lot of people who will be ready to help in such ventures and there is also manpower and volunteers ready to help out. But funding could be a problem because already people are feeling that they have given a lot of money for Covid control to various organisations.”

‘Will help out’

City-based chartered accountant Brij Bhushan Sharma told ThePrint that his body of chartered accountants would happily collaborate with the administration on any such effort.

“This is a crisis of herculean proportions and I am totally in agreement with the Chandigarh administration that the government cannot handle everything on its own,” he said. “It is the responsibility of the citizens as well to join hands with the government and under the latter’s guidance offer their services for any such collaborative effort.”

Bunny, running a handicraft shop in Sector 17, said that the idea sounded good but it might not be practically feasible. “There are many unanswered questions like how will residents run a facility that requires a lot of medical expertise,” he said. “Also, residents may not be capable of finding staff to man the centres. And what about the fear that the community centres having Covid patients might pose a threat to the spread of infection in residential areas?”

Chandigarh reported 521 fresh Covid-19 cases Monday, taking the total number of active cases in the city to 5,575. Five people died of the disease Monday.

Apart from three government hospitals, the city also has the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research to cater to Covid positive patients.