Our teams in Patna, Bihar state, eastern India, have converted a sports hall to set up a 100-bed field hospital for mild to moderate COVID-19 patients, to support the Nalanda Medical College hospital. MSF teams are now providing treatment to patients in the field hospital. Community health promotion and education activities are also taking place in the area.
In Mumbai, teams are providing training on screening, triage, IPC measures, and testing. We are also establishing an appropriate referral mechanism for presumptive cases for treatment and isolation in 28 informal settlements in the city. MSF is supporting an existing fever clinic and scaling up capacity to treat mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 in an MoH-run hospital. Our teams are also carrying out health promotion, mask and soap distribution, and WASH activities in hotspots in the city’s M-east ward district.
We have opened a 24/7 mental health phone hotline in English, Hindi and Tamil, with five counsellors, who have been recruited and trained by MSF.