On Wednesday, the COVID-19 crisis in Delhi had turned more serious as the state reported 792 new cases in a single day, the highest up to now. The earlier highest spike in new cases was 660 on 22nd May. The city has also recorded 15 coronavirus related deaths, taking the total count to 303.

According to the government data, out of the total number of positive cases found, only 7,690 are active cases. 50% are kept under home quarantine. Almost 2,118 patients are admitted in several COVID-19 hospitals. Also more than a dozen staff of AIIMS are tested positive. The state’s total count has crossed the 15k mark and reached 15,257.

Most of the private hospitals providing coronavirus treatment are full and no beds are vacant. But most government hospitals do have vacant beds, including ICUs. For instance, Lok Nayak Hospital has 2,000 beds for the coronavirus patients, out of which only 602 (30%) are occupied. Even in AIIMS Jhajjar, there are sufficient beds available in the hospital for COVID-19 patients.

A senior doctor at LNJP Hospital, said that many people have insurance coverage or can afford get admitted in private hospitals so there is more rush over there.

The Delhi government has recently issued orders instructing private hospitals and nursing homes with 50 beds or above to reserve 20% of beds for coronavirus patients.

On the other hand, the hospitals say that mixing non-COVID patients with COVID-19 cases can cause problems. Dr Chander Prakash, president of the Delhi Voluntary Hospital Forum, said that the hospitals itself will get into danger of becoming a hub for spreading the coronavirus. He further said that the government should select government and private hospitals and make them exclusively accessible for coronavirus patients.

At present, the Delhi government is running two hospitals for COVID-19 treatment — Lok Nayak and Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty hospitals. A 1,500-bed facility has also been set up at the state-run Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in east Delhi.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that Delhi government had anticipated a sudden upsurge in the number of positive cases as the announcement of relaxations in the lockdown to restart economic activities on 17th May.

As per the government officials, at present there are more than 3,800 beds (almost 3,180 with oxygen) available in 5 government facilities, both state-run and Centre’s combined and approximately 670 in private health facilities in Delhi.

Source: ET Healthworld