Govt earmarks 1 lakh hospital beds for Covid patients

NEW DELHI: The health ministry said it has earmarked over one lakh beds in 601 hospitals across the country even as estimates show only 1,671 beds are required in tertiary care, underlining what it said was the government's preparedness to combat Covid-19.


While positive cases have increased from 917 on March 29 to 8,346 on Sunday, only 20% of these cases would need ICU support and critical care. However, the government is looking to be be over-prepared, health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said on Sunday. The number of hospitals and beds needed for Covid-19 patients is going up every week with the lockdown providing time to ramp up capabilities for any big increase in patients in the coming months.

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Agarwal said a resurgence of cases in South Korea, China and Japan was cause of concern and, therefore, it was important to continue containment measures and social distancing. "The government is planning things well and is over-prepared. With the rise in cases of coronavirus, we are increasing the number of dedicated Covid-19 hospitals and number of isolation centres," he said.

He said medical staff had been given proper training on ventilator management and how to manage biological waste, biomedical waste, cleanliness and preventing infection spread. The government has sought to improve availability of beds and medical attention in smaller centres and towns.


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