Fairfax Financial Holdings Group is setting up COV-AID@BLR, a 150-bed, oxygenated Covid-19 treatment centre at Bengaluru airport. The facility will be operational from May 18, 2021.
Located near the cargo terminals at the airport, the facility will be equipped to treat patients with mild hypoxia (a condition in which the body or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply at the tissue level). It is designed to be a transit oxygen delivery centre, which would provide “much-needed relief and treatment for patients requiring oxygen support until they are able to get admission in a hospital.”
The Covid centre will feature a pharmacy, pathology unit, nurses’ station, restrooms and a dining area. Suitable drinking water facilities and visitor areas are provided. An ambulance will be available on standby 24×7 to cater to emergencies.
Necessary arrangements will also be made for the safe disposal of waste, including bio-waste.
A panel of doctors, including Dr. Naresh Shetty, Dr. Nandakumar Jairam and Dr. Alexander Thomas, will provide technical assistance in the functioning of the centre.
The initiative is funded by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, through its subsidiary Fairfax India Holdings Corporation. The Canada-based group has committed US$5 million to provide Covid-19 relief in India.
The Fairfax-led initiative, in partnership with GiveIndia, is part-funded by Kempegowda International Airport Foundation (KIAF) – the foundation of Bengaluru airport.
Prem Watsa, chairman and chief executive officer of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited said, “We are saddened by the current crisis in India resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Fairfax wishes to assist India in traversing this incredibly difficult time and are hopeful that our commitment will provide some relief to India and its health-care system.”
