New Delhi: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Sunday that the city government has ordered 33 large private hospitals in the national capital to reserve 80 percent of ICU beds for COVID-19 patients, in amidst the shortage of such beds in some facilities.
Delhi has seen an increase in novel coronavirus cases since the last week of August. Delhi recorded its biggest jump in a single day of 4,321 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the city’s tally to more than 2.14 lakh, authorities said. It was for the fourth day in a row that more than 4,000 new cases were reported in Delhi.
“Yesterday, we instructed 33 private hospitals to reserve 80 percent of their ICU beds for coronavirus patients. This has been done since they were facing issues regarding ICU beds in some private hospitals. I also held a video conference. about this and a warrant has been issued about it, “he told reporters here.
Jain said that there are a sufficient number of ICU beds in the state and Center-run hospitals, and also said that there are a sufficient number of other beds in the hospitals.
“We have also instructed hospitals to increase bed capacity by 30 percent for coronavirus patients, if they so wish. More than 50 percent of beds are available in hospitals. Of the total. Of 14,372 beds available for COVID-19 patients, 7,938 are vacant, according to the status live on the Delhi Corona app, “he added.
When asked if there may be another lockdown amid a surge in coronavirus cases, the Health Minister dismissed the possibility.
“The time to enforce a lockdown is over. We have gained enough experience through the lockdown and we know that wearing masks is an effective way to fight infection. We are raising awareness to wear masks,” he said.
Jain said the national capital has stepped up testing, so an increase in cases is being observed, stressing that it will help contain and isolate cases of the infection. More than 60,000 COVID-19 tests were conducted on Saturday.
“If he tests positive without symptoms, we can isolate him in time and prevent the infection from spreading. The number could be increasing at this point, but this will help contain the virus,” he added.
Sharing numbers, he said that the positivity rate in the national capital is 7.19 percent, while the mortality rate in the last 10 days has been 0.68 percent, “which is a good sign.” The overall death rate is 2.23 percent, he said. PTI SLB CK
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