Covid-19: Delhi govt increases number of beds at two hospitals as caseload rises

Amid a rise in coronavirus cases, the Delhi government has increased the number of beds dedicated for Covid patients at two of its facilities, including 80 percent escalation in its count at the LNJP Hospital, according to an official order.

LNJP Hospital has 2,000 beds and is the mainstay of the government’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic. It was the first hospital to be declared a COVID-19 facility soon after its outbreak here in early 2020.

Delhi reported 1,485 fresh COVID-19 cases and zero fatality on Sunday, while the positivity rate was recorded at 4.89 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.

The new cases pushed the coronavirus infection tally in Delhi to 18,84,560, while the death toll stood at 26,175.

In a recent order, dated April 25, issued by the city health department, the number of Covid beds at LNJP Hospital has been stepped up to 450 from 250 earlier, while the number of ICU Covid beds has been increased to 178 from 100 previously.

At the GTB Hospital, the escalation is about 300 percent, as the number of Covid beds at the facility has been hiked to 400 from 100 earlier. The number of ICU Covid beds now stands at 50 from nil previously.

Encompassing the two hospitals, the number of Covid beds have been raised to 850 from 350 earlier, while the count of ICU Covid beds stands at 228 from 100 previously across the two facilities.

Currently, 154 COVID-19 patients are admitted in Delhi hospitals, while 4,358 people are recuperating in home-isolation, the Sunday health bulletin said.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had last week said COVID-19 cases have increased in the capital but the situation is not serious as people are not developing severe disease and the hospitalisation rate is low.

He had attributed the low hospitalisation rate to vaccinations and naturally acquired immunity.

With the national capital witnessing an uptick in coronavirus infections over the past few days, the number of active cases has now increased to 5,997 and that of containment zones has risen to 920, according to the bulletin.