The district administration on Friday conducted a mock drill as part of converting houseboats in Alappuzha into COVID-19 care centres.
According to officials, 2,000 isolation beds will be set up in houseboats anchored at the Finishing Point as part of a contingency plan. There are around 700 licensed houseboats in the district. In the initial phase, bedrooms in 140 houseboats have been turned into isolation rooms. It is part of the measures to deal with any possible emergency in the district.
The administration is expecting an inflow of people from overseas and other States after the COVID-19-induced lockdown period ends. More people may have to be quarantined. The converted rooms in houseboats will be used only if the need arises. “COVID care centres are being set up in houseboats for the first time in the country. We conducted the mock drill to evaluate the challenges in advance when using vessels as isolation facilities,” said an official.
The mock drill was coordinated by the District Disaster Management Authority. As part of it, readiness and coordination between government departments and medical teams, shifting of patients to hospital from vessels in compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, safety and disinfection measures to be taken before and after shifting a patient have all been put to test. Officials from the Health Department, police, Fire and Rescue Services, Kerala State Electricity Board, Kerala Water Authority and others took part in the mock drill.
Five cases in district
Earlier, the district administration had reached an agreement with houseboat owners to convert vessels into isolation units. The district has so far reported five COVID-19 cases.
District Collector M. Anjana, District Medical Officer L. Anitha Kumari, Deputy Collector Asha C. Abraham, National Health Mission District programme manager Radhakrishnan and various department heads were present.
