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After investing exemplary efforts in setting up exclusive state-of-the-art Covid care hospitals and expanding footprint in the remote hinterland, the Odisha government has now urged companies in private sector and PSUs to install their own centres for isolation and treatment of patients infected by the deadly virus.
Hemant Sharma, principal secretary (industries), Odisha has shot off missives to some of the top-notch companies like Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Hindalco Industries, JSL, JSPL, Grasim Industries Ltd, IMFA, L&T, ACC Cement et al to set up exclusive centres within their plant and office premises to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
That apart, Sharma has also written to leading blue-chip PSUs such as Nalco, MCL, RSP, IOCL, IFFCO, HAL, OMC, OPTCL, IDCO, GRIDCO and IPICOL to wrest the initiative in installing treatment and isolation facilities.
The industries secretary has suggested that each of the organisations can nominate one of their senior staff as a nodal officer who will be tasked with surveillance of the Covid management efforts.
The designated officer in the company will be in touch with the government nodal officer in the industries department to ensure coordination and seamless communication.
Covid Care Centres having suitable accommodation and with adequate manpower are needed to be in place as per the guidelines issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare.
Earlier, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy held a meeting in this regard through a video meet and discussed the issue at length.
Tripathy briefed these organizations about the steps taken by the State Government to control COVID-19 with upgraded infrastructure.
He said advance physical infrastructure making available in the State has proved beneficial for Odisha as Covid-19 Pandemic has been contained to a large extent.
However, it was important to converge all resources to effectively fight the COVID-19 Pandemic, said he.
Joint efforts in this regard will be very much helpful to fight COVID-19 Pandemic, said a senior officer in the Department of Industries.
Earlier, employees of these organizations when affected by COVID-19 were reaching Government-run COVID-19 hospitals.
Now with their own facilities in place, they will be allowing space for the common people in the COVID Care Centres and Hospitals run by the state government.
Such type of convergence will be much more helpful for the state to fight out Novel Coronavirus, which is causing the serious situation, said an officer.
TRT Bureau
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