New Delhi: As many as 22 private hospitals in the national capital have been ordered to increase the number of dedicated COVID-19 beds by more than 20 per cent, from 1,441 to 3,456.
In an official order issued by Vikram Dev Dutt Principal Secretary, Health on Tuesday (June 9, 2020), the hospitals have been directed to admit COVID-19 patients as per "revised allocation of beds" and to "update on Delhi corona app immediately".
The hospitals include Apollo, Fortis, Max, Holy Family, Batra, Mata Chanan Devi and BLK.
The Delhi government informed Lt. Governor Anil Baijal that currently, there were 8,821 hospital beds, 582 ICU beds, 468 ventilators beds in COVID-19 hospitals.
Also, atleast 500 additional beds in government hospitals too have been also reserved for COVID-19 patients.
Baijal observed that if the surge in COVID-19 cases continues unabated then the national capital will require atleast 80,000 beds by the end of July. The L-G assured that as the chairperson of Delhi Disaster Management Authority, he has been periodically reviewing Delhi's plans to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Baijal said that he was forced to strike down the order of the Arvind Kejriwal government, reserving hospitals in the national capital for city residents, as it violated constitutional right to equality and right to life which includes right to health.
