Three private hospitals in Delhi dedicate facilities for COVID-19 patients

Three major private hospitals in Delhi have made dedicated facilities for attending to patients affected by COVID-19, authorities said on Tuesday.

The government has earmarked around 400 beds in private hospitals for COVID-19 patients, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said during an online briefing.

"We have prepared a detailed plan to take over private hospitals if the number of coronavirus cases rises up to 30,000 in Delhi," he said, adding, "One lakh random rapid COVID-19 tests will be conducted in hotspot areas."

Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) has designated its affiliated hospital Sir Ganga Ram Kolmet Hospital at Pusa Road as a COVID-19 only facility as approved by the government of Delhi, authorities said.

Apollo Hospital and the eastern block of Max hospital in Saket have also been dedicated for COVID-19 patients.

All suspected and positive cases of COVID-19 will be admitted to Kolmet Hospital.

The main Sir Ganga Ram Hospital will now not be a COVID-19 facility. No suspected or positive cases of novel coronavirus will be admitted till further orders, hospital authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.

Properly isolated and dedicated fever clinic will be run both at main hospital as well as affiliated Sir Ganga Ram Kolmet Hospital.

Only three cases were found to be positive between March 30 and April 2 at SGRH, it said.

As many as 108 healthcare workers involved in the care of these patients were quarantined recently.

So far only one quarantined worker has tested positive. At the end of two weeks of quarantine, all quarantine staff will be tested for COVID-19, the statement said.

Besides providing care for patients, virtual OPD has been started and this will continue even after the lockdown is lifted, so as to reduce the burden of people in the OPD, it added.

At Max hospital in Saket too, the eastern block of the facility has been dedicated for COVID-19 patients, the Max healthcare group said.

This block can accommodate up to 328 beds for patients, a spokesperson of the group said.

Apollo Hospital has earmarked 50 beds for COVID-19 patients, the hospital authorities said. 

The number of coronavirus cases in Delhi on Tuesday rise to 576, with 51 fresh cases and two deaths being reported in day,taking the death toll from COVID-19 to nine here, according to the Delhi health department.