NEW DELHI: Amid a surge in the number of coronavirus cases in the city, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has ordered for an immediate procurement of 1,200 BiPAP machines for the new ICU beds being added in the national capital this week, an official said on Tuesday.
He said the move will allow immediate operationalisation of the new ICU beds.
A total of 1,200 BiPAP machines will be procured immediately from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the official said.
The national capital recorded 4,454 fresh COVID-19 cases on Monday and a positivity rate of 11.94 per cent while 121 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 8,512, authorities said.
These relatively low number of fresh cases came out of the 37,307 tests conducted on Sunday, including 18,046 RT-PCR tests, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.
On last Friday authorities had said that 23,507 RT-PCR tests, the highest till date, were conducted a day before.
The highest single-day spike till date here -- 8,593 cases -- was recorded on November 11 when 85 fatalities were recorded.
As many as 121 fatalities were recorded on Monday, same as the previous day.
This is the sixth time in the last 12 days that the daily number of deaths has crossed the 100-mark.
Authorities reported 121 deaths on Sunday, 111 on Saturday, 118 on Friday,131 on November 18, the highest till date, and 104 fatalities on November 12.
The active cases tally on Monday stood at 37,329 as compared to 40,212 on Sunday.
The bulletin said that the total number of cases has climbed to 5,34,317 of which 4,88,476 have recovered.
There is a slight decline in number of containment zones in Delhi.
It stood at 4,692 on Monday as compared to 4,697 on Sunday.
According to the Monday bulletin, of the total number of 17,553 beds in COVID hospitals, 8,089 are vacant.
On Monday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain attributed the high COVID-19 death rate to the pollution caused by stubble-burning and said he expected a downtrend in the next two-three weeks, while the city got a mobile laboratory that will conduct free RT-PCR test for coronavirus.
The minister told reporters that the pollution due to stubble-burning created a big problem in Delhi.
It caused problems in breathing and those who had COVID-19 inhaled the smoke, which aggravated the seriousness, he said.
"There was heavy pollution due to stubble-burning amid the Covid-19 pandemic and it came as a double attack. Since the pollution due to stubble-burning is less now, the downtrend in deaths will be there in a few weeks," Jain said.
As the national capital grappled with a surge in the infection, the Delhi government has directed private hospitals to reserve ICU and normal beds for COVID-19 patients once these are vacated after the discharge of non-coronavirus patients.
The government has ordered 90 private hospitals to reserve 60 per cent of their total bed capacity for COVID-19 patients, while 42 private hospitals have been directed to reserve 80 per cent of their total ICU bed capacity for such patients.
The AAP government had last week increased the fine for not wearing masks from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 and directed private hospitals to reserve 80 per cent ICU beds for coronavirus patients.
The sudden spike in cases came amid the festive season and rising pollution level.
While Durga Puja celebrations ended on October 25, Diwali was celebrated on November 14 and Chhath on November 20-21.
The National Centre for Disease Control in a report drafted recently had warned that Delhi needs to be prepared for about 15,000 fresh cases of COVID-19 per day taking into account the upcoming winter season-related respiratory problems, large influx of patients from outside and festive gatherings.
The number of tests done per million as on Friday was over 3 lakh while the total number of tests stood at over 58 lakh.
Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday attributed the high COVID-19 death rate to the pollution caused by stubble-burning and said he expected a downtrend in the next two-three weeks, while the city got a mobile laboratory that will conduct RT-PCR test for coronavirus at Rs 499 against the Rs 2,400 at private facilities in the national capital.
As the national capital grappled with a surge in the infection, the Delhi government has directed private hospitals and nursing homes to keep ICU and normal beds that have recently been reserved for COVID-19 patients vacant after the discharge of any non-coronavirus patient occupying them.
The government has ordered 90 private hospitals to reserve 60 percent of their total bed capacity for COVID-19 patients, while 42 private hospitals have been directed to reserve 80 percent of their total ICU bed capacity for such patients.
In an order, the government said that in the last fortnight, there has been an "unprecedented surge" in the number of clinically-severe COVID cases, having less than 90 percent oxygen saturation at the time of arrival to the hospital, requiring intensive care.
"However, if in some hospitals, non-COVID patients are already admitted in more than 20 percent of their ICU/ HDU beds then in such cases once these non-COVID patients are discharged, the vacant ICU/HDU bed shall thereafter be kept reserved for COVID-19 patients only," said the order.
The national capital has witnessed a spurt in coronavirus cases since October 28, when the daily caseload breached the 5,000-mark for the first time and recorded the highest single-day spike of 8,593 cases on November 11.
On Monday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated a mobile laboratory that will conduct RT-PCR tests for COVID-19 here at an affordable rate of Rs 499 and the results will be available in six hours.
In Delhi, the rate for an RT-PCR test, considered to be the most accurate COVID test worldwide, in private laboratories has been fixed by at Rs 2,400 and the report is normally available in 24-48 hours.
There is no charge for this test at the Delhi government-run health facilities.
At least five persons died due to COVID-19 every hour on an average in the national capital on Sunday, while the country reported an average of 21 deaths per hour in this period.
The analysis was based on the data given on Monday morning by the Union Health Ministry on the total number of deaths recorded in the country and all states and UTs due to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, talking to reporters, Jain said that the COVID-19 fatality rate is expected to come down in the next two-three weeks as there has been a reduction in the pollution level.
The minister told reporters that the pollution due to stubble-burning created a big problem in Delhi.
It caused problems in breathing and those who had COVID-19 inhaled the smoke, which aggravated the seriousness, he said.
Its effect on the city's COVID-19 death rate will go away in the next two-three weeks since pollution due to stubble-burning has lessened in the last few days, he said.
"There was heavy pollution due to stubble-burning amid the COVID-19 pandemic and it came as a double attack. Since the pollution due to stubble-burning is less now, the downtrend in deaths will be there in a few weeks," Jain said.