When a mosque in Hyderabad becomes a COVID treatment centre

A mosque in Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, has opened its doors to serve as a full-fledged COVID isolation centre. A double-story building attached to the Masjid-e-Muhammadi has been transformed into a 40-bed COVID isolation centre, complete with oxygen beds, medical supplies, and a triaging facility for first-line COVID care, especially with the help of volunteer organisations. The programme seeks to provide assistance to patients from underserved areas and others who live in overcrowded housing.

Two or three patients will be accommodated in each of the school's twenty classrooms. Separate areas have been set up for the pharmacy, physicians, rest place, casualty, and triage, among other things. There are separate restrooms for men and women on each level. Further, the building is available to the public and facilities are provided free of charge, according to the organisers.

The facility, which was formally opened on Monday, is run by the Helping Hand Foundation and was founded with a grant of Rs 75 lakh from The Helping Hands Rotary Trust through Rotary Club of Hyderabad Deccan and Support for Educational and Economic Development (SEED).

The programme seeks to provide assistance to patients from underserved areas and others who live in overcrowded housing.

The facility will provide round-the-clock emergency facilities, according to Mujtaba Hasan Askari of the Helping Hand Foundation. He said the patients would be picked up from their homes and transported to a government or private hospital if necessary.

Dr P Shafi, MD, Internal Medicine, DM (Cardiology), has been tasked with leading a team of 50 people working in three shifts. Four physicians, four nurses, and four bedside caregivers, as well as helpers and cleaning workers, will serve in six-hour shifts. A full-time physiotherapist and a dietician will be on staff at the centre.

Moreover, the Rotary Club of Hyderabad Deccan was inspired to help people suffering from the pandemic by opening a covid treatment centre and providing free oxygen through Mission O2, as per VVSN Raju, president of the Rotary Club of Hyderabad Deccan. SEED, USA Executive Director Syed Mazhar Hussaini said that they wanted to provide space for asymptomatic to moderate COVID cases, particularly from economically disadvantaged groups who cannot afford high out-of-pocket treatment costs and do not have sufficient quarantine facilities at home.