#StartupsVsCovid19: Apollo Brings Together OYO, Zomato For Project ‘Stay Isolated’

In a bid to bring the community together to solve for coronavirus crisis, Apollo Hospitals has launched Project Stay I (Stay Isolated). With this, Apollo has brought together startups such as OYO, Zomato, Biocon, Lemon Tree, Ginger Hotels etc. The objective is to create isolation and quarantine facilities away from the main hospitals in cities across the country and reduce the burden on hospitals providing acute care. Besides these companies, Hindustan Unilever Limited, SBI, and Deutsche Bank are making CSR donations.

Under the partnership, OYO is offering sanitised beds and facilities in certain Covid19 exclusive hotels it has identified within its network in the proximity of Apollo Hospitals in six cities namely, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. These would be for the purposes of self-quarantine and isolation for suspected Covid19 patients that require medical observation and supervision.

Starting with hotels in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, Delhi is the next city that OYO will be assisting Apollo Hospitals in. The company will be offering beds at the cost of INR 700-INR 1200. In a virtual media meet, Dr Sangita Reddy, joint MD, Apollo Hospitals Group said that the price point may vary based on the people’s affordability.

Apollo aims to provide 5K rooms in partnership with such hotels. Ritesh Agarwal, founder and Group CEO, OYO said, “Our partnership with Apollo Hospitals has been developed to ensure we utilise capacity where possible to create highly sanitised pay per use quarantine facilities under the guidance and supervision of medical professionals.”

The isolation rooms will be rolled out in the following cities – Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Delhi, starting with approximately 500 in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, going up by 50 rooms every three days, to reach an eventual target of 5000 rooms across the country. The ramp-up in the number of rooms will be calibrated as per the need. And cities will be added based on government requests, support of local healthcare providers and support for CSR.

Dr. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “The purpose of partnering with multiple facility brands is to ensure that all socioeconomic segments of society have an equal opportunity to avail these services. Owing to SBI & HUL’s generosity, 50% of category 1 rooms (OYO) would be made available for free of cost to those who cannot afford.”

The entire supply chain with working protocols, functioning and monitoring framework has been developed. Anyone who wishes to book a room under Stay-I needs to visit the website and fill out the form present on the homepage.

Zomato cofounder and COO Gaurav Gupta said that as an essential service provider, the company is always looking for ways to utilise its expertise in food delivery to fight against the pandemic. “We are enabling our network for the supply and employing our logistics capabilities to facilitate daily meals,” he added.