Coronavirus crisis: Portable cinema theatre becomes 40-bed medical facility with oxygen in Delhi
New Delhi, Apr 24: Amid rising cases of coronavirus in Delhi, a mobile digital movie theatre chain pitched in with a top hospital group to set up a makeshift medical facility for the COVID-afflicted in the national capital. This development comes at a time when hospital beds are becoming increasingly scarce.
The portable cinema company, Picturetime Digiplex, has used its inflatable, expandable and foldable enclosures to deploy as many as 40 beds with an oxygen facility at Apollo Hospital, Delhi, within 72 hours.
The inflatable enclosures are normally makeshift cinema halls that can be folded and carried off from one place to another, and the concept has been gaining popularity over the past few years. However, with the cinema business paralyzed by pandemic, the owners of Picturetime decided to put the concept to a noble use and set up makeshift medical facilities that can be rapidly deployed whenever and wherever needed.
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Authorities at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, on their part, feel such an infrastructural aid can always boost the fight against COVID.
"The innovative technology offered by Picturetime helped create a 40-bed medical unit in under a week that is equipped to take care of varying grades of patients of Covid-19. We are now ready to offer this facility for our patients just when the need is being felt the most," Dr. Karan Thakur, Vice President (Operations), Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals told a news agency.
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"With COVID-19 second strain spreading at an alarming rate, our medical resources are on the verge of collapse. As a mobile digital movie theatre company, our aim is to provide entertainment but looking at the current state of affairs, we had to come up with something that would help save people's lives. We hope this brings some respite and be of help in these dark times," Chaudhary told the media.
He added that the digiplex chain is ready to help other hospitals all over India by transforming their inflatable cine properties into medical facilities and mobile field hospitals.
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In fact, Chaudhary noted how the company had similarly collaborated with Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai last year.