3 hotels serving as COVID care facilities in Delhi delinked from hospitals over low occupancy

District authorities in South West Delhi have delinked three hotels serving as extended COVID care facilities from hospitals due to low occupancy, officials said on Sunday.

Hotel Piccadilly at Janakpuri district centre, Taj Vivanta in Dwarka, Pride Plaza in Aerocity, and Welcome in Dwarka sector 10 were attached with hospitals closest to them in mid-June to serve as extended facilities for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms.

However, in the last fortnight, only 25 of the 900 rooms at the four hotels were occupied.

In an order issued on Saturday, SDM (Dwarka) delinked Piccadilly, Pride Plaza and Taj Vivanta from the hospitals they were attached with.

Now, only Welcome hotel in Dwarka sector 10 will serve as an extended COVID care facility for Mata Chanan Devi, Akash Healthcare, Venkanteshwara, and Manipal hospitals, the order stated.

It was also mentioned in the order that the hotels claimed they were incurring huge expenses due to low occupancy.

The Delhi government had in early-June asked the district magistrates in 11 districts to use hotels as extended COVID care facilities of nearby hospitals.

A total of 40 hotels were designated as extended facilities of various hospitals across the city.

Patients staying in these facilities receive basic healthcare and are shifted to attached hospitals, if necessary.