Delhi's Hospital in Burari to start functioning as COVID-19 care centre in next 2-3 days

A 400-bed hospital in northwest Delhi's Burari area will start functioning as a COVID-19 care centre in the next few days, Health minister Satyendar Jain said on Friday.

Asked about AIIMS Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria's prediction that India's COVID-19 cases are likely to peak in June-July, Jain said, "All these predictions are made by doctors and scientists".

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"Earlier also prediction were made, but the cases are lesser than what was predicted. If they say that COVID-19 cases will reach their peak in June, it might happen. Patterns of other countries are also similar," Jain told reporters.

The number of coronavirus cases in Delhi on Thursday climbed to 5,980, with 448 fresh cases, the largest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases in the city. The death toll in Delhi now stands at 66.

The city government's health minister had recently visited the upcoming facility in Burari.

The hospital in Burari area will start functioning as a COVID-19 care centre in the next 2-3 days, he said.

Asked about patients belonging to the Tablighi Jamaat, who have recovered, he said, they are being released on orders.

Among them, those who are foreigners and whose visa may have expired, their travel will be handled by the Ministry of External Affairs, he added.

The Delhi government has ordered all test reports to be given within 24 hours, failing which the labs cannot conduct tests. If due to any reason, there is a delay, action will be taken against them after 48 hours. This has happened as some labs were taking 10-15 days for testing samples, Jain said.

Till May 7, the total number of patients who have recovered in Delhi stood at 1,931. Among those undergoing treatment, 87 people are in ICU and 13 are on ventilators, Jain said.

The minister also said construction work, which has been allowed in Delhi, will take time to start again. For construction workers, the employers should make arrangements for their stay at their respective sites, he said.

In response to another question on cases of healthcare workers testing positive, he said there is no question of hiding any data by the Delhi government because if someone tests positive, it should not be hidden.

"Once the reports come, the hospitals have to inform the government. Across the world, we are witnessing that the frontline workers are more vulnerable to this infection, but in Delhi, the situation is better," he said.

Jain also said the government has launched an "e-token service for purchase of liquor" from May 7. There are some issues with the website which is being worked out, he said.