Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will set up a 1,000-bed COVID-19 hospital in Jamnagar with oxygen supply amidst a surge in coronavirus cases in the country, including Gujarat.
Earlier today, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani spoke with RIL CMD Mukesh Ambani and sought his help in augmenting COVID-19 bed capacity.
In a tweet, the Chief Minister's Office said that 400 beds would be made operational by Sunday. The decision will benefit COVID-19 patients from Jamnagar and nearby Dwarka and Porbandar districts of Saurashtra region.
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Gujarat currently has over 1,27,000 active COVID-19 cases, while more than 6,600 people have lost their lives because of the infection. The state's medical infrastructure is stretched, with scarcity of beds, oxygen and medicines reported from many parts.
RIL has also tweaked manufacturing at its Jamnagar oil refineries to produce over 700 tonnes of medical-grade oxygen per day, which is being supplied free of cost to states.
The company's Jamnagar refineries initially produced 100 tonnes of medical-grade oxygen, which has been ramped up to over 700 tonnes per day. The refineries are providing medical oxygen to states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. RIL plans to further ramp up production of medical oxygen to 1,000 tonnes per day.
Also read: Reliance ramps up daily oxygen output to over 700 tonnes