Delhi CM says 663 ICU beds to be added across city to tackle rising cases of COVID-19

As Delhi grapples with the third wave of COVID-19, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday visited the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, announcing that 663 ICU beds would be added across the national capital over the next few days amid the shortage. 

"There is an increase in COVID-19 cases in Delhi but there are enough beds available now. There is a shortage of ICU beds but we are looking into it. There are many cases in Delhi, our doctors and health workers are responding to it very well," he said. Kejriwal added that the Centre had promised another 750 beds at the DRDO facility, as a result of which 1,400 beds would be ready across the national capital soon. 

"Health Minister has met authorities in other hospitals. We will increase 663 ICU beds in the coming days in hospitals of Delhi government including the GTB Nagar hospital. Centre has assured us 750 additional beds in DRDO facility I am thankful to them. So around 1400 beds will be ready," he added.

While speaking on the preparedness of the city in handling COVID-19, Kejriwal asserted that while cases were increasing, there was no major shortage of beds and patients were not stranded across the city, unlike other places. "The cases have increased but if you compare with other big cities of the world when a lot of cases were reported, there was a shortage of beds for there. In Delhi, doctors and nurses have done great work and have managed the situation very well. You won't find patients lying on corridors and on roads in Delhi," he said. 

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Amit Shah chairs high-level meeting 

On Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had chaired a high-level meeting in Delhi where he had directed the authorities to increase the capacity of the hospital and various other medical infrastructures. The Home Minister had informed that more beds would be added to Chhatarpur's 10,000-bed COVID centre and DRDO's COVID hospital in Dhaula Kuan. He also added that the capacity of RT-PCR testing will be doubled.

As per the data recorded by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Delhi recorded 6,396 new cases and 99 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the city to 4.95 lakh. 

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(With Agency Inputs)