NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that it is the responsibility of a hospital to make sure that a Covid-19 patient gets proper treatment instead of expecting them to figure out a way for themselves.
He also stated that most new Covid-19 cases are displaying mild symptoms such as a slight fever and cough, while quite a few are asymptomatic. These cases do not need to be admitted into hospitals.
Currently, 3,314 people are being treated through home isolation as opposed to 2,000 in hospitals.
According to the Delhi government, the number of patients who have recovered is close to being half of the number of total positive cases. The government also added that enough oxygen beds are available to handle the increasing patient load.
“Few days back, a patient visited a private hospital after complaining of breathing issues. His test was conducted two days later and when results came out positive, he was denied treatment. The family was asked to find a Covid-19 bed by themselves. Where will the patient go? This is an unreasonable expectation,” said Kejriwal. A show cause notice has been issued to the private hospital.
“It is the responsibility of the hospital that if any patient is found to be positive, the hospital ambulance should take the patient to any private or government hospital to ensure that he is being treated. We are creating a system through which a serious Covid-19 patient will be able to know which hospital to go to for treatment,” the chief minister added.
The government said that rise in number of cases was expected and that there is no need to worry. The focus is on reducing number of fatalities. There have been 3500 new cases and 2500 recoveries in the last week since lockdown relaxations were announced.
“I have been saying this time and again, there should be no deaths and people should recover and go back to their homes as soon as possible. It would be a troublesome situation if the number of severe patients increases to the extent that there is non-availability of beds, oxygen, ventilators, and other healthcare infrastructure,” added Kejriwal.