NEW DELHI: Amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases in the national capital, the Delhi government has written to the Centre to again scale up COVID beds in its hospitals here, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Monday.
Interacting with reporters, he also appealed to people to step out of homes only if necessary and wear masks all the time.
Asked about the bed requirements in view of escalating cases, Jain said, "We are ramping up medical infrastructure post the surge in cases and 5000 beds have been added in last one week."
Delhi recorded 11,491 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the highest single-day surge in the national capital till date, according to data shared by the health department.
According to the latest bulletin, 72 new fatalities were also recorded, pushing the death toll to 11,355.
"We have also written to the Centre to again scale up Covid beds in its hospitals in Delhi in view of the massive surge. As of now, about 1,090 beds are there in their hospitals, which was above 4,000 during last surge. So, our request is to scale up back to that level," the minister said.
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Asked about ventilators' requirements, Jain said, "About 50 per cent Covid beds in total are still available in hospitals. And, ventilator beds may be occupied, but very few patients are actually on ventilator."
The minister reiterated that it was absolutely necessary to wear a mask when stepping out of the house, which would help fight COVID-19.
On COVID care centres, he said out of 5,525 beds, only about two per cent or 190 of those are occupied.
"Temporary COVID care centres will be set up at different places as per the need," he added.
On the number of ventilators in hospitals, Jain said, "There are only two types of beds -- ICU beds and normal ward beds. A year ago, the issue of the number of ventilators was huge. Now, we have HFNO, Bi-Pap and high-flow oxygen, which are equally good as ventilators."
"We should know that not every patient requires a ventilator; only 2-3 per cent need it. If a ventilator bed is occupied, it is counted as a patient being on a ventilator, but when it comes to the actual use of ventilators, the number of patients using them is very less," he added.
The minister cited instances of two hospitals to explain.
At Burari hospital, 30 patients are on ventilator beds.
However, no patient is on a ventilator.
Similarly, at LNJP Hospital, there are around 60-70 patients who are on ventilator beds but only two or three are on ventilators, he said.