Hospitals start hotel isolation facilities for asymptomatic/mild COVID patients

Anxiety, availability of medical attention and avoiding transmission to others are reasons people opt for them

In the past week, a few corporate hospitals in Hyderabad have started hotel isolation facilities for COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. These services were provided last year too. Since the patients who don’t need active medical attention too were seeking admission in the second wave of the pandemic, hospitals have resumed the services.

Isolating such patients in hotels helps to keep the hospitals beds for patients who are critical, or those who need oxygen, mechanical ventilator support, or other forms of medical intervention. Apart from consultation by physicians, consultation by dieticians is provided. Nurses too attend to them. Charges range from around ₹ 4,000 to ₹ 7,000 a day or more depending on the hospital. Along with medical attention, luxuries or comfort is made available for those who can shell out money.

On April 6, Telangana’s Director of Public Health Dr. G Srinivasa Rao has suggested managements of corporate hospitals to open COVID Care Centres for patients with mild symptoms. The hotel isolation facilities are currently provided by Aster Prime Hospitals, Apollo Hospitals. The management of Continental Hospitals said that they too would provide the facilities in a few days.

Though people are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, they seek admission as the patients have co-morbidities too and with a hope medical attention will be immediately available if their condition were to deteriorate. Anxiety is also one of the main reasons.

Besides this, Tarun Kondabolu, assistant manager, Apollo Hospitals. Jubilee Hills, said that admission is also sought by people with mild COVID-19 or those who are asymptomatic as a precautionary step to avoid spreading the virus to family members. People who have maids at home to take care of daily chores also seek the services as food and other facilities are taken care of during isolation at hotels. Nurses check oxygen saturation levels twice a day. He said that the demand for the hotel isolation is as high as the demand for ICU beds.

CEO of Aster Prime Hospitals, Devanand K.T., said that apart from the COVID patients, they also offer quarantine facility for patients who are suspected to have COVID-19 or those who are waiting for RT-PCR test results. Continental Hospitals CEO Dr Riyaz Khan said that they too are planning to provide the services in a few days.

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