Delhi crosses 1 lakh cases, 3/4th have recovered from virus

For the city which found itself in a tough spot in the first two weeks of June — with increasing case load and challenges in terms of hospital beds — a concerted effort by different departments of the state machinery and the Centre’s help in terms of staff, new hospital beds and some equipment has meant that the situation has come under control, especially over the past week.

Several announcements including adding more private hospitals to the list of Covid facilities; requisitioning hotels and linking them with hospitals to enhance capacity; operationalisation of a part of the Radha Soami Satsang Centre in Chhattarpur, which can accommodate 10,000 patients; and the DRDO Hospital with 1,000 beds being started, have helped the government overcome the biggest hurdle — that of accommodating patients.

Officials, however, said that more than the number of beds, it is the increase in ICU beds and ventilators that has helped the government control the situation, which had become precarious in the first week of June when several patients in critical condition were denied beds by hospitals.

“When we say we have to learn to live with Covid-19, it doesn’t mean we won’t be able to help everyone, but make arrangements for the most vulnerable. After looking at data, we realised 10%-15% patients will need critical care and need adequate facilities for them. We started off with around 700 ICU beds, now that number is 2,000. Of these, 865 beds are vacant. As time passes, the recovery rate will keep rising,” said a senior government official.

On Monday, the city also completed the serological survey, whereby 22,823 samples were picked up. It was jointly carried out by the National Centre for Disease Control and state health authorities on around 20,000 households selected randomly. The results will be declared by July 10. “Sero survey has been completed and 22,823 samples have been collected in Delhi. NCDC is analysing its outcomes, which will help the administration in re-evaluating its strategy,” said a statement by the L-G house.

Delhi’s doubling rate has increased to approximately 17 days. The city had recorded 53,116 cases till June 19, with 2,035 deaths. While the fatality rate has come down from 3.83% to 3.08%, recovery rate has gone up significantly from 44.37% to 71.49%.

There are 25,620 active cases in the capital, out of which 5,250 are admitted to hospitals, 1,714 in covid care centres, 136 in covid health centres and 17,141 are under home isolation. There are 455 containment zones, and 6,57,383 tests have been performed so far.