Hospital beds for Covid-19 patients increased as cases shoot past 3,500

The district on Thursday reported 3,553 new Covid-19 cases, the first time the single-day spike has crossed 3,000, and 10 deaths, following which the district administration issued a slew of directions to increase the bed capacity for Covid-19 patients

The district on Thursday reported 3,553 new Covid-19 cases, the first time the single-day spike has crossed 3,000, and 10 deaths, following which the district administration issued a slew of directions to increase the bed capacity for Covid-19 patients.

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“It has been decided to reserve more oxygen and ICU beds for Covid-19 patients in both private and government hospitals. Of the total, 60% of general beds and 75% of ICU beds will be reserved for Covid-19 patients,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, Gurugram.

The district administration also appointed officials to ensure that seriously ill patients are given priority for hospitalisation, and directed private hospitals to record the number of patients admitted on the administration’s recommendation. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar also conducted a review meeting to assess the emerging situation caused by the surge in cases of Covid-19 across the state.

Increasing bed capacity is expected to alleviate the stress of home isolation for moderate to serious patients, many of whom took to the social media platforms to complain about the difficulty in getting hospital admissions and medicines for treatment.

As per details shared by the health department, the highest single-day spike of cases on Thursday took the total to 92,419 cases and the active cases to 18,120, with 17,968 in home isolation. On Thursday, 1,450 patients recovered from Covid-19.

Officials said that the number of daily cases hit a record high on consecutive days, with the district recording 2,988 cases on Wednesday. The fatality rate is currently at 0.4%.

Yadav said that the health department will expand testing, vaccination and also focus more on isolating the micro-containment zones in the city. “We have also recommended that micro-containment zones should be increased in the city and directions in this regard have been issued by the authorities,” he said.

“People should wear masks, avoid gatherings and those in isolation should monitor their vitals regularly to avoid complications,” said Yadav.

On the testing front, the health department collected 12,067 samples and reported that the results of 7,679 patients were awaited.

Meanwhile, in the review meeting held by the chief minister, Yash Garg, deputy commissioner, Gurugram stated that 40-50% of beds in general wards were reserved for Covid-19 patients. He also said that there was no shortage of oxygen in the district and an HCS (Haryana Civil Services) official has been deputed for allocation of oxygen for hospitals.

Garg also said that the positivity rate of Covid-19 patients in the district stood at 22-23% and that 200 to 300 patients of the 2,500 to 3,000 cases every day require hospitalisation.

The nodal officer will ensure proper allotment of beds to patients and hospitals have been asked to inform how many patients were admitted on the recommendations of district administration, an order issued by the deputy commissioner stated.