Despite the steep increase in the number of COVID-19 infections in the Nilgiris, there are enough beds to treat the patients, officials from the Health Department said.
One of the major concerns in the district since the outbreak of COVID-19 is how the healthcare infrastructure will cope when there is a surge in the number of cases.
However, prior planning by the district administration and the Health Department meant that there were enough beds to treat patients requiring medical care, the officials said.
“As on date, there are 751 available beds in hospitals and COVID-19 care facilities in the district, of which 64 % or 447 beds are currently occupied,” said an official.
Of the 751 beds, 221 had oxygen-support to treat critically ill patients. “We have also identified facilities where an additional 750 patients can be looked after and we will use these only when the current capacity is reached,” the official said.
Despite the surge in cases, the officials said there was no immediate risk of the district running out of beds. “Though we are recording between 100-150 additional cases per day on an average, the number of people recovering from COVID-19 is also almost the same. As long as this trend continues, we should be able to manage the situation,” the official said.