Highest number of deaths due to virus in patients admitted due to some comorbidity: Jain
Giving detailed information on coronavirus cases in Delhi, Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said: “The number of patients admitted in the hospital has stabilised. The number of hospitalisations as compared to new cases coming daily is currently under control. We are hopeful that this is the peak. The existing health system in Delhi is in a good shape and we are fully prepared to deal with the most serious of situations.”
Delhi on Thursday registered record 28,867 fresh Covid cases and 31 deaths. The positivity rate rose to 29.21 per cent.
On the deaths that occurred due to coronavirus, Jain said: “According to the audit of the death committee, the highest number of deaths due to corona is of those patients who were admitted due to any comorbidity or any other diseases. According to the way the cases have increased in Delhi, the rate of admission of patients is currently very low. There is no increase in the number of hospitalisations of patients.”
Giving information about the patients being admitted to the ICU, Jain said: “There are very few such cases among the patients admitted to the ICU beds in the hospitals, who are admitted only because of the corona. Most of the patients are those who are being treated for some other disease. For example, if a person is suffering from any disease and comes to the hospital for his treatment, then according to the treatment protocol, his Covid test is done and if found positive, his further treatment goes on in the corona ward itself. This means that patients admitted in hospitals are getting admitted less due to corona but more due to other diseases and since they also have corona, they are also included in the count of patients admitted to ICU beds which are designated for corona patients.”
Apart from this, while talking about the number of patients admitted to the hospital and the preparedness of the government, the Health Minister said at present very few patients are admitted to the hospital. For example, 30 corona patients are admitted to GTB hospital, there are a total of 750 beds available, he said, adding that similarly, at present, a total of 750 beds are available in LNJP Hospital but only 136 patients are admitted.
“If needed, we can increase 1,000 beds in both these hospitals. Similarly, preparations have been made in other hospitals of Delhi like Deendayal Hospital, Lok Nayak Hospital, and Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital. A total of 37 thousand beds have been arranged for by the Delhi government in these hospitals. At present, 15,000 beds have been made operational. We can double the number of beds overnight if needed, but as the number of hospitalized patients is so less at present, the need to increase the number of beds is not taken into consideration. However, the government is fully prepared to deal with the gravest of situations to arrive,” he said.
“Despite the surge of new cases daily for the last few days, the number of patients admitted to the hospital remains the same. This could be a sign that the peak of the corona has now arrived. I hope that this peak of corona ends as soon as possible so that the cases of corona in Delhi and the country can come down thereafter and people can get relief from this outbreak,” he said.
The Health Minister urged people to follow the rules related to corona and asked them to take all necessary precautions.
Whenever you go out, wear a mask on your face, this will stop corona from spreading, he said, urging people to wear masks for safety and follow social distancing while going to public places.
He assured the people of the state through the press that there is no lockdown in Delhi, migrant labourers need not panic.