Bhubaneswar, Apr 20 (IANS): Odisha's bed capacity for Covid-19 patients has increased to 5,000 as five more government Covid-19 hospitals were opened on Monday.

These five hospitals are in Sundargarh, Bargarh, Angul, Jagatsinghpur and Nabarangpur. They have a bed strength of 825, said an official.

With this, the state's dedicated Covid hospitals are now functional in 26 districts with a bed capacity of 5,000.

The state government has decided to open at least one dedicated Covid hospital in each of the 30 districts.

These Covid-19 hospitals are being set up to strengthen the state's preparedness in the fight against the pandemic.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik interacted with the doctors and health workers during the opening of these hospitals.

Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi and Odisha Health Minister Naba Das joined in the programme through video conferencing.

The government Covid hospitals will provide specialised treatment to the patients free of cost.

Odisha is today a front runner in Covid management in the country by putting in place an early preparedness mechanism.

Speaking at the opening function of the hospitals, the Chief Minister said, "It's a war we have to win."

He said that Odisha has established Covid hospitals with 5000 beds in a record time within 30 days.

He appreciated the efforts of the district administrations in the successful establishment of these hospitals.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan appreciated the efforts made by Odisha in the fight against Covid.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi also appreciated the steps taken by the state government in the battle against Covid-19.

While the 150-bed Covid hospital at Angul will be managed by SUM hospital Bhubaneswar and supported by MCL, the 200-bed Covid hospital at Bargarh will be managed by Vikash Multispecialty hospital and supported by IOCL.

The 200-bed Covid hospital at Sundergarh will be managed by the district administration through the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) with the support of the NTPC.

The 75-bed hospital at Paradeep will be managed by the district administration with support from the state government and Paradeep Port Trust.

The 200-bed Covid health care centre at Nabarangpur will be managed by the district administration and the Christian hospital with the support of Nalco.