Delhi civic bodies offer schools and community centres for Covid beds
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We have extended our complete support to the Delhi government to fight this pandemic.
AVTAR SINGH, mayor,
North Delhi Municipal Corporation
nNEW DELHI: The three municipal corporations in Delhi on Sunday offered all their community centres, schools and health facilities to the Delhi government to ramp up health care infrastructure to deal with the rising cases of Covid-19 in the national capital. This comes on a day when the Delhi government declared the north civic body’s Hindu Rao Hospital a dedicated Covid-19 facility.
The leaders of the three municipal corporations — north, south, east — made the offer during a meeting chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah and attended by Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, mayors and deputy mayors and commissioners of the three civic bodies, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Randeep Guleria and other senior officials.
It was the second high-level meeting held on the day in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis in the Capital. The city reported 2,224 cases on Sunday, taking the total number of infections to 41,182. As many as 1,327 people have died due to the disease in Delhi.
Shah held the first meeting with Baijal, Kejriwal, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, and senior officials of the Union home and health ministries and the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).
The home minister stressed the need for mutual coordination to fight the pandemic and make the national capital “Coronafree”. He directed the Centre, the Delhi government and the municipal corporations to ensure proper implementation of the decisions taken in the first meeting, such as house-to-house survey and increased Covid-19 testing, according to the statement issued by the home ministry.
With Hindu Rao hospital now a dedicated Covid-19 facility, north corporation Mayor Avtar Singh said, “We have extended our support to the Delhi government to fight this pandemic. There are other hospitals and our staff is working hard to provide the best possible care.”
Hindu Rao hospital has about 980 beds – including 17 ventilators, eight intensive care unit (ICU) beds, and four high dependency unit (a step-down from the ICU). Another 250 beds have oxygen support on them, according to the north civic body.
There are 209 patients currently being treated in the hospital, and they will be moved to Kasturba Hospital, Rajan Babu Hospital, and Giridharilal Hospital.
“Modifications will be made in terms of manpower deployment, infrastructure and facilities related to patient care and health care workers,” said north civic body spokesperson Ira Singhal.
The three corporations together run eight hospitals with over 2,800 beds.
The south and east corporations have offered their community centres, schools and hospitals, which they said can be turned into Covid-19 facilities as and when the government needs. The two corporations have 71 and 95 community centres respectively.
“All our community centres are completely air-conditioned. It was also discussed that efforts should be made to ensure that there is no delay in cremating those who have lost their lives to Covid-19,” said Rajdutt Gahlot, deputy mayor of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.
While the corporations have extended their support to the Delhi government, the east and north corporations raised the issue of funds shortages.
East Delhi mayor Anju Kamalkant said, “We requested the government to pay us ₹470 crore so that we can effectively carry out Covid-19 management work.”
With GTB hospital in east Delhi being designated a dedicated Covid-19 hospital, east Delhi mayor said the load on Swami Dayanand hospital has increased. The body has sought permission from the Delhi government to increase the beds in the hospital from 370 beds to 500.