Amid Covid case spike, Delhi govt orders Lok Nayak, GTB hospitals to cancel routine surgeries

“In view of the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in Delhi, it is hereby directed that routine/ elective surgeries shall be suspended in LNH and GTB hospitals… till further orders,” states the order issued Tuesday night by special secretary (health) S M Ali.

Last week, AIIMS had suspended all routine services.

This comes even as the Delhi health minister said hospitalisations were on the decline, with the surge likely close to its peak. He said only 15% of the 15,000 beds available across city hospitals for Covid-19 treatment was occupied. The government prepared for 37,000 hospital beds.

Hospitalisations stood at just over 2,400 as per Thursday’s health bulletin.

The hospitals had started curtailing routine services like the outpatient clinics when healthcare workers started testing positive in large numbers.  “We are feeling the crunch now because there was already a shortage of staff with first-year PG students not coming in and now many doctors testing positive together,” said a senior doctor from GTB hospital.

Last week, more than 750 doctors were positive for the infection at six of Delhi’s biggest government hospitals.