With fewer admissions, 61% of Covid-19 beds in Delhi vacant

The number of active cases or those living with the infection has dropped to an average of 28,300 during the last seven days as compared to 31,562 the week before that. This has resulted in more beds that were earmarked for the treatment of Covid-19 being vacant

With fewer cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) being reported in Delhi every day, the total number of hospitalisations across the city has also started declining over the last one week. On average, 6,598 people were hospitals on any given day in the last seven days, as compared to 7,014 during the week before that. There were only 6,146 people in hospitals as on Wednesday, according to the daily health bulletin.

Over 61% of the beds earmarked for the treatment of Covid-19 – both in government and private hospitals – are currently vacant. However, when it comes to the ICU beds, only 34.2% are vacant, data from the Delhi Corona App shows. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

The number of active cases, or those living with the infection, has dropped to an average of 28,300 in the last seven days as compared to 31,562 the week before that.

This has resulted in more beds that were earmarked for the treatment of Covid-19 becoming vacant.

Over 61% of the beds earmarked for the treatment of Covid-19—both in government and private hospitals—are currently vacant. However, when it comes to the intensive care unit (ICU) beds, only 34.2% are vacant, data from the Delhi Corona App shows.

Seeing the ICU beds fill up faster in the second week of September, the Delhi government had asked its hospitals to increase the number of ICU beds and had ordered 33 big private hospitals to reserve 80% of their total ICU beds for the treatment of Covid-19. In about 10 days, government hospitals as well as private hospitals were able to add 500 beds each.

However, the order for the 33 private hospitals was challenged in the high court and the court has said it would hear the matter again on October 9, asking the Delhi government to submit data on whether ICU beds were available for the treatment of non-Covid-19 patients.

As on Monday, about 55% of the ICU beds in the government hospitals were occupied and 72.5% of the beds in private sector hospitals were occupied, according to the Delhi Corona App. As for the occupancy in 12 of the big private hospitals, the occupancy has reduced slightly, but is at 84%.