Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday visited the state’s Covid-19 war rooms and directed authorities to evict more than 800 patients who are occupying hospital beds for 20-30 days.
During his visit to the Covid-19 war rooms in the Arogya Soudha on Magadi Road and in Malleswaram, Yediyurappa thanked staffers working there round-the-clock.
This outreach came exactly a week after Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya’s “raid” on the BBMP South war room to expose a bed blocking scam, the aftermath of which reportedly demoralised staffers.
“The way our war rooms are working is a model for the entire country,” Yediyurappa told reporters. “I don’t think there’s a better war room system anywhere. People here work 24/7. I congratulated them,” he said.
At the war rooms, Yediyurappa was given data on the current occupancy of hospital beds in Bengaluru. The city currently has 12,299 beds, he was told.
“The data is so perfect: As on today, there are 6,500 patients who are in a hospital for 1-10 days, 1,900 for 11-20 days, 503 for over 20 days and 337 for over 30 days,” he said. “In total, there are 9,242 patients.”
The CM said he had asked authorities to get patients who have been staying in a hospital for over 20 days and 30 days sent home. “Why are they still there? They can vacate beds for other needy patients,” Yediyurappa said.
“Despite doctors’ advice, these people are still there. They should be told to manage their condition at home so that patients who are serious can be accommodated. Now that we have these statistics, we can regulate the situation better,” he added.
Addressing the war room employees, Yediyurappa lauded them for their hard work. “You are working beyond your strength to curb Covid-19,” he said. “PM Modi took stock of the situation. Our state has more cases than Maharashtra and what’s more worrying is the number of deaths. We’re trying our best to control this and you are helping us.”