In One Week, Delhi Sees Increased Demand for Covid-19 Beds amid Uptick in Cases

The uptick in the number of coronavirus cases in Delhi in the last week has resulted in a heightened demand for hospital beds. The occupancy of Covid-19 beds in hospitals in the national capital, which was below 3,000 on July 30 and remained the same till August 5, breached the 3,000-mark.

According to a Times of India report, data put out by the Delhi government between August 6 and August 12 revealed that the occupancy of Covid-19 beds was between 3,024 and 3,351. Delhi reported 1,113 new coronavirus cases pushing the caseload to over 1.48 lakh, while the death toll has increased to 4,153, authorities said on Wednesday. The total number of cases stands at 1,48,504.

Dr Suresh Kumar, director of Lok Nayak hospital, told the publication that till last week, they were seeing daily admissions of around 20-30 patients. But on Wednesday, the hospital saw 43 Covid-19 patients being admitted, Kumar added.

Meanwhile, doctors at Sir Ganga Ram, Indraprastha Apollo and Max hospitals have also said that the pattern holds true. "There is a significant increase in new admissions due to Covid-19. Many of the patients are also from other states, for example, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar,” one of the doctors at Apollo hospital was quoted as saying.

The report, citing the figures released by Delhi's health department, noted that on Wednesday, of the 13,963 Covid-19 beds, 24%, i.e.,3,351, were in use. The occupancy rate of Covid Care Centres and Covid Health Centres was at 7% and 32%, respectively.

At Lok Nayak hospital, 336 patients infected with novel coronavirus are admitted, while AIIMS Delhi has 142 Covid-19 patients. Physicians at AIIMS Delhi told ToI that there has been a significant rise in admissions due to coronavirus in the last three-four days.

Another cause of concern may be the spike in demand for ICU beds, both with and without ventilator support. There are 1,235 Covid-19 beds with ventilators in Delhi, out of which, 415 (34%) were occupied on Wednesday, data revealed. Of the 881 Covid-19 beds sans ventilators, 34%, i.e., 297, were in use.

Doctors emphasised on the need for people to adhere to social distancing norms and wear masks when they step out in order to avoid worsening of the situation.