The Odisha government on September 22 made it mandatory for all hospitals treating COVID-19 patients to have help desks to inform family members and relatives about patients' condition.

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The directive came after several people complained about not being able to access any information about the treatment and condition of their family members admitted to COVID hospitals. As per the notification of the health department, each COVID facility (government and private) shall mandatorily establish a dedicated help desk to function 24X7 and the help desk must have a dedicated telephone preferably a toll-free number. The help desk shall also use social media like WhatsApp to communicate the voice and pictures of the patients to the attendants of the patient.

A dedicated conference room may be set up at the outside of the COVID facility with the provision of TV and cameras which can be connected with CCTVs installed inside the facilities so that the attendant can see and talk with the patient, said the notification. "For any violation of the provisions and non-functioning of the help desk, necessary action as deemed fit shall be initiated against the erring hospital," it said. Meanwhile, the number of recoveries in Odisha crossed 1.5 lakh on September 22. With 3,834 more COVID-19 patients recovering on September 22, the total number of recoveries in Odisha now stands at 1,53,213.