450-bed isolation facility for Covid at Lok Nayak hospital in Delhi

The Lok Nayak Hospital, city’s largest government-run health institution, has set up a 450-bed isolation facility and expanded the oxygen capacity from to 50 tonne, health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said even as Covid-19 cases fell in the national capital on Monday.

Bharadwaj’s announcement came during a visit to the hospital, where inspected Covid-19 preparations as the number of cases has shown a slight uptick in the country. He also inspected outpatient services and the paediatric department.

“The hospital administration informed that the availability of oxygen during the previous wave of Covid-19 was 5 tonne, but now it has been increased to 50 tonnes. Only 4 tonne of oxygen is currently being used. Presently, both oxygen and Covid-19 beds are available in sufficient numbers. No emergency or dangerous situation is currently known,” Bharadwaj said while addressing mediapersons after the inspection.

Delhi reported 293 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, according to the daily health bulletin of the state government. This was a sharp fall from Sunday’s numbers, when the city reported 429 infections.

To be sure, the hospitalisation rate continues to be below 2%, according to government data.

Bharadwaj added that a separate isolation ward has also been set up at the hospital for stable Covid-19 patients.

“Currently, most of the admitted patients are recovering, and the number of deaths from Covid is negligible. Deaths are only happening in cases where the patient has increased diabetes or is on dialysis,” he said. “The hospital administration has been directed to ensure that the best medical facilities are available to patients and treatment priority is given to those patients who are in the vulnerable sections.”

Last week, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and the health minister chaired separate meetings to take stock of Covid-19 preparations in the city. Directions were also issued to ramp up testing in all 11 districts.