Delhi govt directs five COVID-designated hospitals to upgrade beds amid rising cases

The Delhi government on Thursday directed five of its dedicated COVID hospitals to upgrade beds, after the cases in the national capital started increasing at a rapid rate and crossed the mark of 25,000 cases. The beds in the hospitals have been divided into five categories in order to meet the demand from hospitals, isolation wards, and as well in the ICUs.

The categorisation of the beds

According to the order issued by the Padmini Singla, Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) the beds in the hospitals have been put into five categories. Categorisation of the beds will be done in the following manner: The Level 0 beds will be the ordinary hospital or observation beds, the Level 1 beds will have to be equipped with normal Oxygen supply up to 5 Liters per minute, while the level 2 beds should have an oxygen supply at 10-15 litres per minute. 

The Level 3 beds will be equipped with HFNO machine for Oxygen supply at 50 plus litres per minute while the level 4 beds should have a ventilator according to the order.

READ | COVID-19: Ten railway coaches turned into isolation wards at Delhi's Shakur Basti station

The five dedicated hospitals which have been asked to upgrade the facility include:  Lok Nayak Hospital with 2,000 beds, Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital with 850 beds, G.T.B. Hospital with 1,500 beds, Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital with 200 beds and Satyavadi Raja Harish Chander Hospital with 200 beds.

The Medical Directors of all designated COVID hospitals have been directed to upgrade beds at their institutions in accordance with the schedule and the time for upgradation of level 1,2 and 3 beds has been asked to be achieved within 1,2 and 3 weeks, respectively.

READ | Woman alleges COVID-positive father 'not admitted' in time by Delhi hospital, dies

COVID-19 cases in Delhi

Delhi recorded 1,359 fresh coronavirus cases on Thursday, which took the city's COVID-19 tally past the 25,000-mark, and the death toll due to the disease mounted to 650, authorities said. The highest single-day spike of 1,513 cases in the national capital was recorded on Wednesday.

In a bulletin, the Delhi health department said the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 650 and the number of cases mounted to 25,004 on Thursday. A total of 44 fatalities were reported on June 3, which took place between May 3 and June 3, the bulletin said.Seventeen deaths took place on June 2, it added.

READ | 'June crucial for Odisha to fight COVID-19, need to be cautious in Monsoon': CM Patnaik

READ | Odisha CM exhorts people to practise self-restraint

(With inputs from agencies)