New Delhi: Covid numbers in Delhi spiraling, the Arvind Kejriwal government has attached banquet halls, schools and sports complexes to hospitals to increase the number of beds. A Delhi government order said, 875 new beds will be available due to this move.
The list of hospitals which have gained extra space this way includes Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Hospital, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital.
It would be the responsibility of the hospital to provide doctors, medical staff, infrastructure and other consumables to the attached Banquet Hall, school or sports complex, the government said.
The second wave of Covid has hit Delhi hard, with the city logging more than 10,000 cases a day since Sunday. On Tuesday, the city logged 13,500 fresh Covid cases over a 24-hour period, taking the total to 7,36,788.
A day later, the Delhi government turned 14 private hospitals in the city "full COVID-19" hospitals. Besides, 19 private hospitals were asked to reserve at least 80 per cent of their Intensive Care Unit beds for Covid patients.
Delhi now has 2,989 beds available across its 16 government and 78 private hospitals. This includes ICU beds with ventilators and ICU beds without ventilators, showed the Delhi government's Corona app this evening.
Last year, the Supreme Court had pulled up the Delhi government for being unprepared for a pre-winter surge when the daily numbers crossed 8,500. At the time, the Centre had to step in to help with the arrangements.
Calling the current Covid wave "far more dangerous" than anything the city has seen earlier, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced a series of restrictions including night curfew.
The Centre had earlier asked the states to enforce Covid-appropriate behaviour including social distancing and the use of masks. Laxity in maintaining safety protocols is what triggered this new surge, the Centre has maintained.
The fresh restrictions in the national capital, which will stay in place till April 30, include a ban on all types of social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural and religious gatherings.
Only 50 people will be allowed to attend weddings and not more than 20 at funerals. Restaurants, bars and cinemas will operate at 50 per cent of their seating capacity.