Have all wards at AIIMS Delhi been converted to COVID-19 wards? Fact Check

A message is being circulated widely on social media platforms claiming that all wards at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi have been converted to COVID-19 wards. The message reads, “Hospital beds are now available in AIIMS, Delhi as all the wards have been converted into COVID-19 wards. Please inform the people who are in need. You need to visit Coronavirus facility near AIIMS emergency."

The Press Information Bureau on Thursday debunked this information as fake. It clarified that all wards at the hospital have not been converted to COVID-19 wards.

“A message is being circulated on social media claiming that hospital beds are now available in AIIMS Delhi, as they have converted all wards into COVID wards. This Message is fake. All wards have not been converted at AIIMS,” it said in a tweet.

150 more beds installed at AIIMS

On Tuesday, at least 150 additional beds were installed at AIIMS for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, taking the total number of beds in the main hospital building to 241. The additional beds are available on the second and sixth floors of the ward block of the hospital.

Of the total 241 beds, 193 were occupied by Wednesday night, as per the Delhi Corona app. The AIIMS has 294 beds at its trauma centre, which had been reserved for COVID-19 treatment last year.

The Delhi government plans to set up 1,200 makeshift ICU beds once the city starts receiving more oxygen from the Centre’s quota. Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday also said that its newly constructed Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka will install 500 oxygen beds by next week.