150-bed COVID-centre with oxygen support at Bengaluru airport

Bengaluru: Fairfax Financial Holdings Group, the promoters of Bangalore’s Kempegowda International Airport, has funded in setting up of a 150-bed, oxygenated COVID-19 treatment centre at the airport to bolster the healthcare infrastructure, which will start functioning from May 18, a release said on Wednesday.

The initiative is funded by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, through its subsidiary Fairfax India Holdings Corporation, it said. The Canada-based group has committed USD 5-million (Rs 37 crore) to provide COVID-19 relief in India, as according to the release.

The facility, located near the cargo terminals at the Bangalore Airport and is designed to be a transit oxygen delivery centre is equipped to treat patients with mild hypoxia, it said. Mild hypoxia is a medical condition in which the body or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply at the tissue level.

”We are saddened by the current crisis in India resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Fairfax wishes to assist India in traversing this incredibly difficult time and are hopeful that our commitment will provide some relief to India and its health-care system,” Prem Watsa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.

The centre would provide much-needed relief and treatment for patients requiring oxygen support until they are able to get admission in a hospital. Besides, the centre would be equipped with a pharmacy, pathology unit, station for nurses, rest rooms and a dining area.

Suitable drinking water facilities and visitor areas are provided. An ambulance would be on standby round-the clock to cater to emergencies, BIAL said. The Fairfax-led initiative, in partnership with GiveIndia, is part-funded by Kempegowda International Airport Foundation (KIAF), BIAL said, adding the initiative will be managed by Fairfax Financial Holdings Group’s investee companies – KIAF and Quess Corp Limited.