Delhi to get 2.7k more Covid-19 beds: Sisodia

Sisodia's comments came amid concerns regarding the rate at which hospital beds are getting occupied in the city.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday said there has been a three-fold increase in the number of Covid-19 hospital beds in the city since April 3, and added that around 2,700 more will be added over the next six days, even as he expressed concerns about the increase in Covid-19 cases.

Manish Sisodia was referring to the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Covid-19 hospital in Delhi Cantonment that was reopened on Monday. (PTI file photo)

“The Covid-19 situation in the city is alarming. We are currently recording around 25,000 new cases a day. Going by the rate of increase, it looks like the number of daily cases will soon rise to 28,000 -30,000. In the last four or five days, we have been working round-the-clock on providing hospital beds to Covid-19 patients. We are also increasing the number of Covid-19 beds. On April 3, we had 6,071 beds in the city. As of now, we have 19,101 beds. We have increased beds by three times on a war footing in a short time,” said Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s nodal minister for Covid-19 management and inter-ministerial coordination..

The Capital recorded 28,395 fresh cases on Tuesday.

His comments came amid concerns regarding the rate at which hospital beds are getting occupied in the city. As of 7pm on Tuesday, 86% of Delhi’s 19,538 Covid-19 beds were occupied. Worryingly, 99.3% of the 4,585 Covid-19 ICU beds were occupied as well.

“The DRDO facility opened on Monday, and all 250 beds got occupied within four hours. In that centre, 250 more beds are to be added. The city’s total Covid-19 bed capacity will increase by around 2,700,” Sisodia said.

He was referring to the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Covid-19 hospital in Delhi Cantonment that was reopened on Monday.

He named several Delhi government hospitals — Burari hospital, Ambedkar Nagar hospital, DDU hospital, Acharya Bhikshu hospital, Raja Harishchandra Hospital and Lok Nayak hospital — that are likely to get more Covid-19 beds in the coming days.

Covid-19 ICU beds status in Delhi (Hindustan Times)

Addressing concerns about the burden on health care infrastructure in the city, Sisodia said, “We appeal to people not to panic. Don’t rush to hospital on being diagnosed Covid-19 positive. If severe symptoms surface, then consult a doctor and consider checking for hospital availability on the app (Delhi Corona) and only then go to hospital. Running from one hospital to another exhausts the patients and also burdens hospitals.”

He said the government received some complaints that doctors were not attending to patients, and that these charges were unfounded.

“Doctors are doing their best and are completely invested in their work, risking their own lives,” he said.

The Delhi government on Tuesday issued an order notifying that the Covid Care facility at the Radhasoami Satsang Beas’s Chhatarpur campus will be attached to the Madan Mohan Malviya hospital – which will provide doctors, nurses, paramedics, and at least 10 dedicated ambulances for this centre.

The centre is slated to have 5,000 beds for Covid-19 patients at capacity. Of these, 250 were functional as on Tuesday evening, official said. The centre will have facilities such as medical oxygen and testing. It can house patients with mild to moderate symptoms who will be under round-the-clock supervision of medical teams.

(With inputs from Anonna Dutt)