The facility at Chhatarpur is ready with 2,000 of the 10,000 beds being made operational.
New Delhi: India’s largest facility for Covid-19 patients, having 10,000 beds in the national capital, is ready with 2,000 of them being made operational.
The facility—Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre—at Radha Soami Satsang Beas, Chhatarpur—is being developed by the Central government in a bid to bolster the Covid-19 containment measures in Delhi. Official sources said the facility, with a 300 acre sprawling campus, will have two segments–a Covid Care Centre (CCC) where asymptomatic positive cases will be treated and a Dedicated Covid Healthcare Centre (DCHC).
The entire operation of this Centre, including ensuring availability of requisite numbers of medical personnel, has been entrusted to the Central Armed Police Forces, with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) taking the lead in this process.
Delhi, which has overtaken Mumbai as the worst-affected city in the country, has 73,000 plus infections so far and more than 2,400 died.
Additionally, a 1000-bedded new greenfield hospital constructed by Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and manned by doctors and paramedical staff from the Army would start functioning next week from an area near Dhaula Kuan. This new field hospital would have a referral relationship with AIIMS. The hospital would be equipped with oxygen, ventilators as well as an ICU.
The Government of India has centrally procured and distributed 11.11 lakh N95 masks, 6.81 lakh PPE kits, 44.80 lakhs HCQ tablets in Delhi. Moreover, 425 ventilators have already been delivered to various hospitals of the national capital.
This is to be noted that Delhi has 34 dedicated Covid hospitals, 4 dedicated Covid health centres, 24 dedicated Covid centers to treat Covid-19 patients according to their severity. Thus, a total of 62 facilities in Delhi are engaged in treating the infectious disease. The number of these facilities is being increased on a daily basis. In yet another move, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, has started conducting a Serological Survey across Delhi from today (Saturday) which will continue till 10 July. Blood samples from 20,000 persons will be tested to ascertain the presence of antibodies. A diagnostic method, serological tests are used to identify antibodies, which are created by the immune system when someone is infected with the virus, and antigens in a person’s blood. The Central Government has extended substantial support to the Delhi government for containment and management of Covid-19. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has till now supplied diagnostic material for carrying out 4.7 lakh RT-PCR tests to the 12 functional labs in Delhi. It has also provided 1.57 lakh RNA extraction kits essential for carrying out the test and 2.84 lakh VTMs (Viral Transport Medium) and swabs for collection of Covid-19 samples.
Looking at the sudden surge of cases, the ICMR has approved antigen-based rapid tests and supplied 50,000 such antigen rapid test kits to Delhi government for supporting containment efforts. ICMR has provided all these test kits free of cost to Delhi.
NCDC has supported the efforts of Delhi government through technical guidance on all aspects of Covid-19 surveillance and response strategy. Delhi government has been advised to conduct assessment in respect of every dead individual (from Covid-19) as regards how many days before death the person was brought to hospital and from where. A special focus has to be given about whether the person was in home isolation and whether the person was brought to hospital at the right time or not. Every death has to be reported in a timely manner to the Government of India. All hospitals have been given strict directions that there should be no delays in handing over the dead bodies to their next of kin and performing last rites of Covid-19 deceased patients.