India News | Punjab: Army Sets Up COVID-19 Hospital in Patiala

Chandigarh, May 12 (PTI) A COVID-19 hospital set up by Army's Western Command in Patiala became operational on Wednesday, a defence release said.

The facility has been set up at the Government Rajindra Hospital, Patiala in Punjab, it said.

The hospital was dedicated to the people of Patiala and Punjab in the presence of Congress MP from Patiala, Preneet Kaur, and Major General Mohit Malhotra, General officer commanding Airawat Division, it said.

This is the third such facility which has been established by the Army's Western Command in conjunction with the civil administration for augmenting the medical infrastructure to fight the raging COVID pandemic in the country.

Of the two other hospitals, one at the International Students Hostel of Panjab University, Chandigarh was inaugurated on May 10 while the other at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government Medical College, Chhainsa, Faridabad became operational on May 11.

At the Patiala facility, a dedicated team of doctors and health care workers of the Army commenced the functioning at the newly created super specialty building of Rajindra Hospital.

The trained staff under the medical officers of the Army working in close coordination with the hospital authorities shall ensure that quality treatment is provided to affected COVID patients, the release said.

The services being rendered under the aegis of Western Command will enhance the state government's effort to fight the pandemic and also provide an opportunity to the Army to contribute towards the national cause of containing the spread of the deadly virus so as to eventually make the country COVID free, it added.

On Monday, Lieutenant General R P Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief , Western Command, who had announced the operationalisation of the COVID Hospital at Panjab University, highlighted the efforts put in by both the Army and the civil administration in the early opening of the three hospitals.

He had assured the governments of both Punjab and Haryana and the Chandigarh administration of support in their fight against COVID-19.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)