Covid-19: Centre to provide more ICU beds to Delhi, double testing, deploy paramilitary doctors

Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in the national capital in the recent weeks, the Centre on Sunday decided to add more Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, double the RT-PCR tests, deploy doctors and healthcare professionals from paramilitary forces and set up a dedicated team to study the bed availability in private hospitals.

These decisions were taken at a review meeting chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah and attended by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and senior officials among others.

There was no discussion on pollution in the capital and its impact on Covid-19 or imposing restrictions due to rising cases with Kejriwal saying that the Ministry of Home Affairs is likely to have a discussion on Monday to deliberate on putting restrictions in the capital.

The capital has been witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases since October 20 with the Delhi government officials attributing it to the festival season and laxity in adhering to norms like ensuring social distancing and wearing masks during a similar review meeting on November 2 chaired by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla.

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The number of cases has now 4,85,405 with the Sunday medical bulletin adding 3,235 cases. The number of daily deaths is also near 100, with the bulletin reporting 95 on Sunday, taking the total toll to 7614.

In the past few days, Delhi was witnessing cases above 7,500 but the Sunday bulletin, which reflects the cases of the day before, figures were low due to less number of testing on Saturday, which being Diwali. In the next two-three days, the capital is likely to cross the five lakh-mark in the number of cases.

After the meeting, Shah tweeted the decisions taken in the meeting which included the doubling of RT-PCR tests and deploying mobile testing vans of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Indian Council of Medical Research.

"There is a need for increasing the capacity of medical infrastructure in Delhi. In this direction, 250 to 300 ICU beds will be added at the DRDO Covid-19 facility," Shah said adding that oxygen-equipped beds will be arranged in another facility run by the ITBP.

He also said the Centre would provide oxygen cylinders, high-flow nasal cannula and other essential health equipment to Delhi.

Kejriwal put the total number of ICU beds allotted by the Centre at around 750, saying that around 500 will be added within the next two days while adding that Delhi government-run hospitals will also add ICU beds with the help of the Centre that has assured help in arranging necessary equipment.

Delhi, at present, has 16,641 beds of which only 8,811 are occupied, leaving 7,830 beds vacant. Of the 1,340 ICU beds with ventilators, only 162 are vacant while of the 2,183 ICU beds without ventilators, 261 are available, according to Delhi government's website on Covid-19.

Kejriwal also said that the testing would increase to 1-1.25 lakh in the next few days as against the daily average of 60,000 now.

Keeping in mind the shortage of healthcare professionals to handle the rising cases, Shah also said that the Centre would be airlifting doctors and paramedics from paramilitary forces to deploy in the capital. A dedicated team would also go to private hospitals to study the bed availability in private hospitals for Covid-19 patients.

Steps will also be taken to shift patients in home isolation to Covid-19 hospitals in case their condition deteriorates. This, Shah said, would enable them to contain the deaths.

Directions have also been given to prepare a protocol for plasma donation and administering it on patients.