Beds’ count to be linked with graded action plan in Capital
NEW DELHI: With Delhi preparing for another wave of Covid-19 infections, the state government has decided to link the number of reserved beds with the test positivity rate, as part of the state’s graded-response action plan to thwart any further outbreaks in the Capital.
The colour-coded plan, drafted by an expert committee formed by the Delhi government and approved by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), is similar to a mechanism to fight air pollution during pre-winter months.
It classifies outbreak severity into four bands – yellow, amber, orange and red – with each representing a more severe outbreak and, thus, stricter curbs than the one preceding it.
“Now, the government has linked the escalation of beds to the graded response plan as well, meaning the hospitals will know how many beds they have to increase if the positivity rate is 0.5% or 5% and so on,” said a Delhi government official who asked not to be named.
The official added, “What this means is that the government will not have to go to the state cabinet every time and issue separate orders to increase Covid-19 beds. For the time being, hospitals can use the beds for the treatment of non-Covid-19 patients, since the city’s caseload is very low.”
As the fourth wave of infections rapidly expanded its footprint in April, the Delhi government issued four orders within two weeks — on April 12, April 14, April 18, and April 19 — asking government and private hospitals to increase the number of beds reserved to treat patients with the viral infection.
At its peak on May 16, Delhi had 27,633 beds reserved for Covid-19 patients. Of these, 60.8% beds were occupied. At the peak of hospitalisations on May 3, there were over 20,000 Covid-19 patients admitted to Delhi hospitals. Just a week before on April 27, Delhi had completely run out of ICU beds — barring 11 meant for women in late stages of pregnancy — when the city had over 4,700 ICU beds earmarked for Covid-19 patients.
During the height of the fourth wave, Delhi added 25,294 new infections in a week in the seven days ending April 23. The positivity rate peaked a day earlier, hitting 36.2%.
With Covid-19 cases on the decline – Delhi reported only 49 new cases on Thursday – the number of beds earmarked for the treatment of the viral infection in the city has dropped by 10,000 from the peak in May second week. The number of oxygen and ICU beds in the city has also halved, shows data on the government’s Delhi Corona app.
Hospitals and makeshift facilities across the city still have over 17,000 beds earmarked for Covid-19, of which only 2.3% were occupied as on Thursday afternoon.
Private hospitals, however, are yet to receive any intimation about de-escalating beds.
“After the last order by the Delhi government (issued on April 12) reserving a huge proportion (exact proportion different for several different categories of hospitals) of beds for Covid-19, and a reduction in proportion for the hospitals completely reserved a couple of days later, no further orders have been received by private hospitals,” said Dr GS Grewal, president, Delhi Medical Association.
Hospitals, however, have been using the beds to treat non-Covid-19 patients, as HT reported on June 24.
Central hospitals such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) also have escalation plans in place for any subsequent waves of the infection. “Keeping in mind the possibility of a third wave, we have not touched the trauma centre beds; it continues to be a dedicated Covid-19 centre. The centre has 250 beds reserved for the illness, but only 45 are occupied. If Covid-19 cases start increasing, the number of beds can be increased to 300,” said a senior administrator from the hospital.