Maha: Sports complex to be converted into COVID care centre

Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra's Aurangabad city, the civic body has decided to convert the Divisional Sports Complex here into a COVID care centre, an official said on Monday.

The Divisional Sports Complex, spread over 28 acres in Garkheda area of the city, is one of the biggest sports facilities in the state's Marathwada region. The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation has acquired the sports complex to convert into a COVID care centre and a quarantine facility, civic health officer Neeta Padalkar told PTI.

"We can arrange about 300 beds for COVID-19 patients at this centre. The complex will also act as a quarantine facility where nearly 700 coronavirus suspects can be accommodated," she said.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Aurangabad district reached 5,239 after 202 more people tested positive for the disease on Monday morning, another official said.

The new patients include 123 males and 79 females. Out of 202 new cases, 114 are from Aurangabad city and 88 from rural areas of the district, the official said. Till now, 247 patients have died of COVID-19 in the district.

Besides, 2,556 patients have been discharged after recovery while 2,436 patients are currently undergoing treatment, the official added.