Patna, March 17 (IANS): To fight the coronavirus pandemic, the Bihar government has decided to turn Hotel Patliputra into a 200-bed isolation ward.

A Bihar Health Department official said on Tuesday that "A 200-bed isolation ward is being prepared where coronavirus suspects returning from worst-hit seven nations will be kept."

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday announced that Hotel Patliputra, which has been closed for the last one year, will be made an isolation centre.

After the orders of the CM, the health department and tourism department officials got the hotel cleaned.

Source said there are 48 rooms in the hotel which will be made isolation wards. Apart from the rooms, the banquet halls of the hotel will also be turned into isolation wards.

A Health Department official said: "The hotel will be developed as a quarantine centre. Similarly, a building in Gaya will also be developed as a quarantine centre."

"People returning from seven worst-affected nations like China, Italy, Korea, France, Germany, Spain and Iran will be divided into three categories. People with severe symptoms will be sent to isolation ward of Medical College, whereas people with lesser symptoms will be sent to quarantine centres and those will minimal symptoms will be sent for home isolation."

So far, 57 coronavirus suspects have been tested in Bihar but no positive case has been reported.

The state health department said that 274 people who have returned from coronavirus-hit nations from January 25 are under observation out of which 86 people have completed 14-day quarantine.

Till now, 19,216 travellers have been screened at Patna airport.