Bhubaneswar, Apr 2 (IANS): Two stand alone COVID-19 hospitals with a total capacity of 650-beds have been readied by the Odisha government in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

These hospitals are ready to provide dedicated health care to COVID-19 patients, said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office.

The first one is a 500-bedded dedicated hospital at the Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in Bhubaneswar and the second one is at the Ashwini Hospital in Cuttack with 150-bed capacity.

Both the hospitals have been sponsored by Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), a state public sector undertaking.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik thanked both the management of the KIMS and the Ashwini Hospital for their cooperation and faster implementation.

The Chief Minister also interacted with doctors and paramedics and highly appreciated their commitment and noble service in the fight against coronavirus.

"Although we are ready to provide better health care to Covid-19 patients in these stand alone hospitals, we can win the fight through social distancing, hand washing and observing lockdown guidelines," said Patnaik.

The state government has earlier announced about free treatment along with free food and rent free stay for all COVID-19 cases in these hospitals.