Gurgaon: The city’s
medical infrastructure was in a precarious position on Tuesday, with all its 233
ventilator beds occupied and only two of the 491
ICU beds available for
Covid-19 patients.
The number of
oxygen beds available is down to 45 from Monday’s 129.
As many as 2,344 people tested positive for the virus on the day, taking the overall tally past the 85,000 mark to 85,878. Four more people also died, taking the toll to 387. The active case count is 14,270. While 13,343 patients are in home isolation, 1,602 are hospitalised.
On Tuesday, several people lined up outside hospitals in search of a bed for family members who had been infected. In some cases, the wait stretched to about seven to eight hours.
“I have no clue when I will get a bed for my wife. She is very critical. I have been standing outside a private hospital near Sushant Lok for the past six hours,” said Somesh Gupta, a resident of Sector 56.
Another relative of a Covid patient, Ram Kumar, said, “I have checked in more than 15 hospitals. My father’s oxygen saturation levels are dipping rapidly and there is no ICU bed available.”
Several people also said they had been trying for an ICU bed for the past two days in Delhi as well but in vain.
“I have visited most of the hospitals in the two cities. My relatives have checked in Noida too. My father is 69 years old and has Covid. He has had high fever for two days now and his oxygen level is dropping. We need medical help,” said Gautam Sethi, a resident of Palam Vihar.
Gurgaon chief medical officer Virender Yadav said the surge is expected to continue for another 20 days. “We are likely to see more cases and also more critical patients. People need to stay indoors and wear a mask while stepping out,” he added.
Meanwhile, the health department said 842 patients recuperated too, bringing the total number of recoveries to 70,379. The
recovery rate is currently 84%.
The positivity rate, which was 7.8% at the beginning of the month, now stands at 14%. The case fatality rate (CFR) is 0.4%.
The health authorities conducted 12,013 tests on Tuesday. Till now, a total of 11,05,617 samples have been sent for testing, of which 10,07,726 have returned negative while the results of 7,970 are awaited.
A total of 84 people were sent to the institutional quarantine facilities on the day. So far, 11,09,203 people have been put under surveillance in the city.