The charges will not be higher than Rs 5,000 plus tax in high class hotels (File)

Jaipur:

In a bid to increase the number of beds for coronavirus patients, the Rajasthan government on Saturday allowed private hospitals to rope in nearby hotels as extended COVID care centres where asymptomatic patients can be treated.

For this, the private hospitals will have to sign an MoU with the hotels after taking permission from district collector and as per the conditions laid down by the state government, an official statement said.

The state government also fixed the maximum charges to be taken from patients who will be kept in these extended COVID care centres in three different categories of hotels- high class, medium class and standard class.

The charges will not be higher than Rs 5,000 plus tax in high class hotels, Rs 4,000 plus tax in medium class hotels and Rs 3,000 plus charges in standard hotels per day. The charges include two-time tea, breakfast, lunch and dinner, water, housekeeping, disinfection, medicines, cylinders and other necessary equipment for low flow oxygen, masks and consumables, the statement said.

Paramedical staff will be deputed round-the-clock in the hotels by hospitals which will also have to provide PPE kits, masks and others, to the hotel staff.

The hospitals will charge the patients and pay to the hotels, it said.
Principal Secretary (medical and health) Akhil Arora said in an order that asymptomatic patients are also admitted in government and private hospitals and such patients only need supervision by doctors.

He said such patients should be admitted to COVID care centres of hospitals instead of dedicated COVID hospitals so that beds in the latter category could be made available to mild/moderate and serious patients.

The number of coronavirus cases and deaths due to the disease are constantly rising in the state where more than 88,000 people have been affected by the infection.