BHUBANESWAR: With the Capital city showing no signs of significant decline in Covid cases, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to add 100 ICU beds to the existing strength in various Covid hospitals in the city.
As per Health department statistics, out of 1,511 general beds available at eight Covid hospitals in Bhubaneswar, 59 per cent were occupied till May 28. On the other hand, out of 1,353 ICU and HDU beds in different Covid hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Khurda region, around 81 per cent had remained occupied till May 28.
Almost all ICU beds remain occupied in major hospitals in the city. While Aditya Ashwini DCH with 90 beds had 99 per cent occupancy, Hi-Tech DCH and Blue Wheel Hospital had 99 and 94 per cent occupancy till Friday.
“In view of the prevailing situation, we have decided to add 100 more ICU beds to Covid hospitals in the city,” said a senior BMC official engaged in Covid management duty. While Sparsh Hospital will add 20 more beds, SUM DCH has already added 40 beds.
Other hospitals including Sanjivani have also been allowed to increase their ICU bed strength. BMC Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Singh said, “Though there is no dearth of ICU beds in the city at present, we are increasing the strength to deal with the situation effectively.” He said the cases in the city will soon start declining. Meanwhile, the city reported 871 new cases and three deaths against 1,073 recoveries in the last 24 hours. The city now has 11,641 active cases.