The Delhi Government will increase the number of beds for Covid-19 patients once the “oxygen crisis” in the national capital is resolved, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday.
Jain also said that to deal with rising number of cases, around 800 ICU beds are likely to be added in central government hospitals soon. “We have also demanded that the Centre give us 7,000 beds for two weeks. So far, 2,000 beds have been given,” he told reporters. The number of beds are being increased, but Delhi has been facing a “serious problem” with regard to oxygen supply for the last three days, Jain said.
The Centre increased Delhi's quota of oxygen on Wednesday (from 378 metric tonnes to 480 metric tonnes). However, oxygen is also needed for new Covid centres being operationalised in Delhi, the minister said.
“Beds for Covid patients will be increased in a large number once this crisis ends,” the minister said. Jain said hospitals in Delhi grappled with a shortage of oxygen the entire night. “The supply had almost finished in some hospitals. Thereafter, small quantities of oxygen were distributed among hospitals,” he said. On Thursday morning, several small hospitals in Delhi struggled to replenish oxygen supply for their patients, even as some big healthcare facilities received fresh stock overnight.