COVID-19: Wipro IT facility turns into hospital

IT company Wipro Ltd will convert one of its IT campuses in Pune into a 450-bed intermediary care Covid-19 hospital.

The process would be over in a month's time and the IT campus-turned-hospital would be handed over to the state, officials of Maharashtra government and Wipro Ltd said.

The transformation is expected to be over by May 30 and the temporary hospital will revert to its original status as an IT facility after a year's time. The MoU was signed on Tuesday.

The 450-bed hospital will be equipped to treat moderate cases and will include 12 beds to stabilise critical cases before shifting them to a tertiary care facility.

The independent, isolated Covid-19 dedicated complex also includes 24 well-appointed rooms to accommodate doctors and medical staff.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray lauded the initiative and said: "The humanitarian gesture by Wipro Ltd will further strengthen the medical infrastructure and benefit the medical fraternity who are at the forefront in the war against the pandemic."

“We are completely committed to supporting the country’s response to the pandemic and believe we must all work together to deal with this crisis and minimize its human impact,” said Wipro Ltd. Chairman Rishad Premji.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Pune Collector Naval Kishore Ram, CEO of Pune Zilla Parishad Ayush Prasad on behalf of the state government and Wipro Ltd. Senior Vice-President and Global Head-Operations Hari Prasad Hegde.