COVID-19: Delhi govt links 1,055 beds in 8 banquet halls with state-run hospitals

The Delhi government on Saturday issued an order to set up 1,055 beds in banquet halls and linked them to state-run hospitals as the national capital continues to witness an alarming surge in coronavirus cases.

According to the government's plan, the administration will set up 11,229 beds in 77 banquet halls to ramp up medical infrastructure to deal with the COVID-19 situation in the city.

In each district, a banquet hall having more than 100 beds can be started by linking it to designated COVID-19 hospitals, the order said.

Three banquet halls each may be linked to bigger hospitals -- Lok Nayak Hospital, GTB Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi SS Hospital.

One banquet hall each can be attached to Deep Cahnd Bandhu Hospital and Satyawadi Raja Harish Chandra Hospital, it said.

The government on Saturday linked eight banquet halls with a total of 1,055 beds to these hospitals. 

Kundan Banquet Hall in Southwest Delhi, Shehnai Banquet Hall in Central Delhi, and JJV Marketing and Hotels Limited were attached with Lok Nayak Hospital, the largest COVID-19 hospital in Delhi.

The LNJP Hospital was declared a COVID-19 facility on March 17 and since then it has successfully treated more than 2,700 coronavirus patients and sent them home. 

The government said the district magistrate office will be responsible for providing housekeeping staff, and arranging sufficient beds with mattresses and pillows for patients.