14 private hospitals in Delhi declared ‘full COVID-19’ hospitals

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New Delhi: The Delhi government on April 12 declared 14 private hospitals in the city as “full COVID-19” hospitals and directed them not to admit any non-COVID patients till further orders.  Nineteen private hospitals have been directed to reserve at least 80% of their ICU beds for coronavirus-related treatment.

Eighty-two private hospitals have been asked to set aside at least 60% of their ICU beds for COVID-19 patients, according to the order issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

“Furthermore, 101 private hospitals are directed to reserve at least 60% of their ward bed capacity for COVID-related treatment,” the order read.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directed officials to convert some government and private hospitals into dedicated COVID-19 facilities to cope with the alarming rise in the number of cases in the national capital.

Terming the COVID-19 situation in Delhi “very serious”, the chief minister also asked the officials to request the Centre to increase the number of beds for COVID-19 patients in its hospitals in the city, an official statement said.

Kejriwal said the number of beds in government and private hospitals must be at par with that in November last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak.