Delhi govt withdraws its decision to declare nursing homes as COVID facilities

The Delhi government on Sunday withdrew its decision to declare small and medium multi-speciality nursing homes as "COVID nursing homes".

The decision came after the Delhi Medical Association wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying the move will harm the healthcare needs of non-COVID patients.

According to a new order issued by the Delhi government, the decision to declare nursing homes as COVID facilities has now been "withdrawn with immediate effect".

Small and medium multi-speciality nursing homes in the city having 10 to 49 beds were declared as "COVID nursing homes" by the Delhi government on Saturday.

Only standalone exclusive eye centres, ENT centres, dialysis centres, maternity homes and IVF centres were exempted, according to its order on Saturday.

"With the Delhi government's decision, over 5,000 beds will be available for coronavirus patients. In the next few days, our officials will talk to owners of each nursing home to solve their problems," Kejriwal had tweeted in Hindi earlier in the day.

According to the Delhi Corona app, there are 9,856 beds available for coronavirus patients, with 5,455 beds being occupied at 10.35 pm on Sunday.