No scarcity of hospital beds in Delhi, there is shortage of ICU beds: Arvind Kejriwal

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that as of now there is no scarcity of hospital beds in the national capital, over 15,000 beds are available of which 5,300 are occupied. However, there is a shortage of ICU beds here, he added.

"For now, there is no scarcity of hospital beds, we have over 15,000 beds out of which 5,300 are occupied. There is a paucity of ICU beds. If there is any spike in COVID cases, these ICU beds are very critical for us," the Chief Minister said at DRDO-built Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel COVID-19 Hospital.

Speaking about the hospital he said, "This 1,000-bed facility was very much needed at this time. So many people are being treated under home isolation in Delhi currently, a person if goes in a serious condition starts searching for a hospital so the hospital beds are needed at this time...this 1,000-bed hospital will be helpful in such a situation."

He further said that there was a spike in cases in the national capital when the lockdown was lifted around one month ago but gradually the situation was controlled.

"It was projected that Delhi would have around 65,000 COVID-19 active cases so we together controlled this situation and today there are only 25,000 active cases here," he added.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also visited the DRDO-built Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel COVID-19 Hospital in Delhi Cantonment.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy were also present here.

The DRDO-built Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel COVID-19 Hospital in Delhi Cantonment is a temporary hospital structure that has been erected in 11 days and has 1,000 beds including 250 ICU beds, informed DRDO officials.

Delhi has a total of 97,200 COVID-19 cases, including 68,256 recoveries and 25,940 active cases, as per the last bulletin of the Delhi Health Department. 

-ANI

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