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This is an archive article published on April 1, 2023
In Delhi hospitals, most Covid patients elderly or those with comorbidities
The elderly have to be extremely careful as they are at high risk for Covid complications like pneumonia and respiratory failure, Dr Rommel Tickoo from Max Super Speciality Hospital said.
A health worker takes a swab sample from a woman for Covid testing in New Delhi, on Friday. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
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In Delhi hospitals, most Covid patients elderly or those with comorbidities
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The Covid patients admitted in Delhi hospitals are mostly the elderly or those with comorbid conditions, state health department officials have said.
According to an official from the state health department, a majority of patients are above 60 and have been suffering from issues like cardiac disease, kidney disease and diabetes etc. “These include patients admitted to hospital after getting infected with Covid and also those who were already admitted due to other health issues and later developed Covid,” he added.
Meanwhile, another official from Lok Nayak Hospital, the nodal hospital for Covid cases in Delhi, said that a total of 10 patients are admitted, including eight women and two men. “Only two of them are elderly and the rest are young patients from the gynaecology department who were also infected with Covid,” the official said.
Why the elderly should be cautious
According to Dr Rommel Tickoo, director of internal medicine at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, the elderly are at high risk for Covid complications like pneumonia and respiratory failure so they have to be extremely careful.
“Those who have comorbidities and the elderly, whenever they are in crowded places or poorly ventilated places, should wear masks, which nobody is doing at the moment. It is not mandated for everyone but the ones who are at risk, vulnerable and the elderly should wear masks,” he added.
The elderly have less immunity and more comorbidities like diabetes, cardiac issues, lung disease, kidney disease etc which makes them prone to developing severe infections. Over a period of time, immunity wanes so they are at a higher risk, Dr Tickoo said.
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Dr Tickoo added that a majority of people have been vaccinated but booster shots still need to be taken. “Booster will not prevent from getting infected but the likelihood of getting pneumonia, respiratory failures which need hospitalisation is much less,” he added.
He further said that the present Covid variant, XBB1.16, the reason behind the surge, might not be covered by the vaccine but it will give some sort of protection against certain complications.
On Friday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said that in all three Covid deaths reported in the city, the patients had comorbidities, which were the main reason for their demise. He pointed out that in one of the deaths, the patient was hospitalised for a few months due to a kidney transplant. He also added that two out of these three patients were not residents of Delhi.
The Delhi government is conducting genome sequencing of all Covid cases to detect any new variant. Random screening of 2 per cent of passengers is also being done at the airport, he added. The government can conduct more than 1 lakh RT-PCR tests in government and private hospitals, Kejriwal further said.
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Additionally, 7,986 beds are ready for Covid patients in Delhi and only 66 beds are occupied as of date. The CM also shared that the Delhi government will follow guidelines from the central government.
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