Delhi: Health Ministry to increase COVID-19 beds to nearly 7,000 amid steep surge in cases

Amid the steep surge in COVID-19 cases across the national capital, the Union Health Ministry is set to increase the quota of COVID-dedicated beds by exponential folds in and around Delhi, sources informed on Friday evening. Until now, nearly 1,500 odd beds were kept reserved for COVID-19 patients in the national capital. However, with Delhi clocking 26,169 cases on Thursday itself, the Union Government is set to increase the number of reserved COVID beds in government-run hospitals to nearly 6,000-7,000. 

As per the Delhi health bulletin on Thursday, only 2,037 beds were vacant out of the total 20,191 beds available in the national capital. More beds could be occupied considering the number of COVID positive patients under home isolation that is 46,585, as per the same bulletin. The total number of active cases in Delhi stands at 91,618 with 13,193 deaths due to the virus. 

The decision to expand health infrastructure comes just hours after the Health Ministry's high-level meeting on the grim situation earlier today. In the meeting with State-run hospitals in Delhi, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan issued directions to the representatives to prepare for the worst possible situation. In the meeting on Friday morning, the process of ramping up health infrastructure and increasing the number of beds in each hospital, assuming a sharp increase in daily days in the coming days, was discussed. Harsh Vardhan also listed out the steps taken by the Centre to tackle the oxygen crisis, for which the governments have also been pulled by the Delhi High Court. 

Health Min chairs high-level meet

"We held a detailed meeting with the Health Secretary, DG CSIR, senior officials and officials from AIIMS, Lady Hardinge, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia & Safdarjung hospitals. We discussed the process of increased COVID beds, ICU beds and a method to increase the number of beds in these hospitals with the help of CSIR and speed up the process. Each hospital has set up a target number of beds. Hospitals have been instructed to be vigilant in view of a possible COVID surge," the Health Minister said in a briefing following the meeting. 

On the oxygen crisis, Harsh Vardhan highlighted that the Prime Minister has been holding marathon meetings with stakeholders to ensure a sufficient supply of medical oxygen wherever required. He informed that the Central Government has set up control rooms at the highest level, headed by senior officials, to ensure that the allotted quota of medical oxygen by the Centre reaches the designated State. 

Radha Soami COVID care centre to resume

The Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre (SPCCC) at Radha Soami Satsang Beas in South Delhi, which was closed down in February, is likely to be operational in two-three days, officials said on Friday. The facility at the spiritual organisation's centre in Chhatarpur is being revived considering the unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases, they added. "We are ready to operationalise a 500-bed facility at the SPCCC. Thanks for support from the MHA, medical and paramedical staff from the ITBP has been deployed and we have been told that they will start arriving from Saturday. We have all the equipment, drugs and consumables. We have been working day and night for the last couple of days to get all the necessary arrangements done by different departments like PWD, MTNL, BSES, DUSIB, DJB etc.," South Delhi District Magistrate (DM) Ankita Chakravarty said.