Breather: Covid-19 cases down, more beds available in Delhi

NEW DELHI: With Delhi witnessing a steady dip in the number of Covid-19 cases and positivity rate, the occupancy rate at hospitals has also come down, giving the capital’s stretched health infrastructure some much-needed respite.
At 9pm on Friday, the number of vacant Covid-19 beds was 7,368, including 5,803 oxygen ones, out of the total 24,902 beds, as per Delhi government’s online Corona dashboard. The number of vacant ICU beds — till recently hard to find — was 284, out of the 6,076 beds.
While the number of new admissions is now slightly lower than the number of patients discharged, the increase in the availability of beds is also the result of addition of nearly 4,000 ward beds and almost 1,000 ICU beds by the government in the last fortnight.
On April 30, the total beds were 20,938, of which 1,199 were available. The total ICU beds were 5,154, of which only 44 were vacant. By May 2, only 20 ICU beds were vacant, most in a children’s hospital.
The highest number of beds on Friday were available at Delhi government’s LNJP (637), followed by GTB (286), Ambedkar Nagar (200), Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty (187), and Burari hospitals (180). The partially opened Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka has added 250 oxygenated beds and Burari’s Sant Nirankari and Gurdwara Rakabganj Covid care centres 1,300 beds.
New treatment facilities created next to GTB and LNJP hospitals will also add ICU beds. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday visited the facility at Ramlila Maidan, annexed to LNJP.
Kejriwal said 250 ICU beds were starting from Friday and another 250 in a day or two. “Our doctors, paramedic staff, engineers and workers worked day and night on war footing and mission mode to construct this facility” in just 15 days.
“I visited GTB Hospital day before yesterday, where another 500 ICU beds have been set up,” he said, adding that with 200 ICU beds being set up at Chhatarpur’s Radha Soami Covid facility, 1,200 ICU beds would be added.
The situation, Kejriwal said, is improving, but ICU beds are still full, which means the system still has serious patients. “I am sure these 1,200 ICU beds will provide relief to the people of Delhi.”
“I want to request everyone, this is not the time to do politics. We are losing lives due to Covid, people are sad and in pain, because they are losing their loved ones,” he said.