On Thursday, the capital recorded single-day coronavirus deaths higher than 104.
In the past 13 days, from November 1 to November 12, government data shows that 912 people have died due to Covid-19 in Delhi, with an average of 70 deaths a day. City hospitals say the increase in deaths is proportional to the increase in the absolute number of cases.
A total of 88,124 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Delhi in the past 13 days. “The death rate for Covid-19 is about 1.2 to 1.5%. As more people test positive, the number of deaths has also increased,” said a senior physician at AIIMS.
The increase in cases and people developing severe symptoms requiring admission has left the healthcare infrastructure overwhelmed. Only 166 of the 1,328 ventilated ICU beds are available citywide. Fanless ICU beds are also hard to find, with only 325 out of 2,136 vacant. “Our ICUs have been full for almost two weeks,” said a doctor at Apollo Hospital. The situation in other hospitals such as Ram Manohar Lohia, Sir Ganga Ram, Fortis and Max Hospitals is similar.
“It is a crisis situation. People do not realize it and many of them move in the markets without following preventive measures, such as wearing masks or maintaining social distancing. This is very serious,” said Dr. Vinay Aggarwal, member of the Indian Medical Association said. He added that healthcare workers are overworked and find it difficult to handle so many patients.
The delay in admission is a key factor in the worsening of the disease in patients with Covid-19 and deaths. Doctors say that if someone has symptoms, for example fever, cough, or shortness of breath, they should get tested right away.
Also, even those in home isolation must be under medical supervision. Symptom deterioration can be very sudden in Covid-19, and therefore patients should be on the lookout for warning signs like shortness of breath or irregular heartbeat or sudden loss of consciousness, experts say.
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