Delhi readies to contain COVID surge

Home ministry for increasing testing capacity, adding to healthcare infrastructure

GN Bureau | November 18, 2020


#Covid-19   #Novel Coronavirus   #healthcare   #testing   #Delhi   #home ministry   #DRDO   #Bharat Electronics  
(GN Photo, for representation only)
(GN Photo, for representation only)

A slew measures have been under way for a more effective response to the rise in COVID-19 infections in Delhi, with the union home ministry pushing for more testing as well as adding to the healthcare infrastructure.

After home minister Shah held a meeting on the Delhi COVID situation on November 15, a slew of measures have been under way, a home ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Ten multi-disciplinary teams have been constituted to visit more than 100 private hospitals in the capital for assessing bed utilisation and testing capacity, and to identify extra ICU beds. The teams have started their visits.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Delhi government have been working together to enhance RT-PCR testing capacity to 60,000 tests by end-November. Testing capacity was already enhanced by 10,000 tests per day on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Indian Railways is also making available train coaches with 800 beds at Shakur Basti railway station. These coaches will function as COVID care-cum-isolation facility, and doctors and paramedics from CAPFs are going to be on duty there.

To spruce up the healthcare infrastructure, public sector unit Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has dispatched 250 ventilators from Bengaluru, and they are expected to reach Delhi by weekend. The health ministry has delivered 35 BIPAP machines to the DRDO COVID facility near Delhi airport.

The DRDO is adding 250 ICU beds to its already existing 250 ICU beds. It will also create 35 BIPAP beds in next thrre to four days at its COVID hospital near Delhi airport.

As many as 45 doctors and 160 paramedics from CAPFs have reached Delhi for deployment at the DRDO hospital and at the COVID care centre at Chhatarpur. More doctors and paramedics are on the way and expected to arrive in the capital over the next few days.

Comments

 

Other News

How to leverage AI to solve urgent global issues

The world seems to be hurling towards World War III in all the possible scenarios: hot war, cold war, and proxy war. The battleground seems to have expanded beyond physical to digital or virtual/mixed reality with technology like drones. Moreover, the line between civilian and military targets seems to hav

Budget: Progress towards SDGs and areas for improvement

The Union Budget 2025-26 outlines India`s vision for economic and social growth while also reflecting the country`s commitment to sustainable development. As India moves closer to the 2030 deadline for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this budget presents a balanced approach

Repo rate cut by 25 basis points to 6.25%

The Reserve Bank of India has, for the first time in five years, reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 6.25% with immediate effect. Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate will stand adjusted to 6.00% and the marginal

Amitav Ghosh’s new work: Connections between the word and the world

Wild Fictions: Essays By Amitav Ghosh HarperCollins, 496 pages, Rs 799.00 Amitav Ghosh, one of a handful of Ind

How markets can help (and also hinder) fight against pollution

In the annals of environmental policy, few ideas have been as transformative as the Emissions Trading System (ETS). Born from the minds of economists in the late 1960s, this market-based approach to pollution control has evolved from a theoretical concept to a global tool in the fight against climate chang

Will Bihar complement the resolution of Viksit Bharat 2047?

As India completes its diamond jubilee as a republic, I am reminded of a statement by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, delivered during an address to the Bihar Chamber of Commerce in Patna on March 28, 2006. He said, “I have visited Bihar numerous times, and it has always been a source of happiness for me to

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now



Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter