The Infosys Foundation, led by chairperson Sudha Murty, will provide medical infrastructure like ventilators and other equipment to prepare the 200-bed Broadway Hospital in Bengaluru to treat COVID-19 patients.
“Infosys has come forward to work with us. Broadway Hospital with over 200 beds will be handed over to infosys and they will provide facilities like ventilator and other basic facilities. We thank Sudha Murty,” Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar told reporters on Tuesday.
Sources in the Health Department earlier told TNM that Sudha Murty and Narayana Health founder Dr Devi Shetty had demanded a government hospital with 500 beds to set up infrastructure to treat suspected and positive cases of COVID-19. “But we could find the Broadway Hospital in Shivajinagar which is under the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) so far,” the source said.
“In the coming days, one wing of the Bowring Hospital in Bengaluru will also be handed over to them. Other than that, they have asked for space in government buildings where they can set up isolation centres,” the source added,
The Infosys Foundation is the CSR (corporate social responsibility) arm of information technology major Infosys. It may be recalled that Dr Devi Shetty, who runs the Narayana Health group of hospitals and Sudha Murty had approached the government to offer help. Sudha Murty, in a meeting with Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday, suggested that a partial shutdown order be put in place in Karnataka.
Sources with the health department further said that currently, various government hospitals in districts other than Bengaluru are short on ventilators.
"We have suspended all surgeries unless it is an emergency. This way, ventilators used for surgeries can be utilised for patients in isolation wards who are showing symptoms," the health department official said.
An eleventh case was confirmed in Karnataka on Tuesday — a 76-year-old woman who is a resident of Bengaluru who returned from Dubai via Goa on March 9. She also suffers from chronic kidney disease. These 11 cases include the 76-year-old Kalaburagi man who succumbed to COVID-19 with co-morbidities.
Among the other 10 cases, seven are from Bengaluru. One of them is a 20-year-old student who came from the United Kingdom. Three of them are three techies working in Dell, Mindtree and Google respectively. The others are the wife, daughter of the professional working in Dell and the other person was a co-passenger of the Mindtree techie on a flight from London to Bengaluru.
(With inputs from Theja Ram)