The government has started discussions to turn the Kathmandu Medical College (KMC), and Ganesh Man Singh and Janamaitri hospitals into special hospitals for coronavirus.
Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhatatrai, who is also in the high-level coordination committee to fight coronavirus, informed that the government can take over these hospitals considering their infrastructure and human resources. "It would be good if the government were to use these hospitals for quarantine," he added.
Ganesh Man Singh Hospital is in Lalitpur district and the other two in Kathmandu.
Bhattarai said the government will consider whether doctors from the the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) can visit Janamaitri situated in Balaju.
He stated that the government can also operate KMC. "KMC, on its part, has already said it can treat patients if the government were to provide personal protective equipment (PPE)," he revealed.
The high-level committee has handed the responsibility of looking for places for quarantine to Bhattarai but the committee has yet to decide to take over these hospitals.
Spokesperson at the Health Ministry Dr Bikas Devkota confirmed that many private hospitals have come with proposals to hand over themselves to the government. "The ministry has initiated discussion about that," he stated.
The government has converted Teku and Patan hospitals into special hospitals for coronavirus. "We will make Teku Hospital the medium hospital to test for coronavirus and shift those testing positive to Patan," Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal said.
