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ITBP’s Covid care centre to get 1,000 oxygen beds, more doctors to fly in

The spokesperson said that Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) doctors will be flying down to Delhi: “We currently have 100 doctors and over 200 paramedical staff. Another 75 doctors and 250 paramedic staff are flying down from different places in the country.”

Delhi Covid cases, delhi coronavirus deaths, Coronavirus Delhi, ITBP Covid center, Delhi news, Indian Express

The Covid care centre has been linked to Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Madan Mohan Malviya hospitals, while its referral tertiary-care hospitals are Lok Nayak Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital — all run by the Delhi government.

With the Centre stepping in to help manage the sudden increase in the number of cases in Delhi, the Covid Care Centre at Chhatarpur, which is run by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), will convert 1,000 beds into those with oxygen support. The Centre has 10,000 beds, out of which 600 are occupied at present. The area is sealed off for everyone, except those who have been assigned a bed by the district administration.

Since the beginning of the month, there has been a sharp uptick in the number of Covid cases. While there are 16,733 hospital beds in the city, 7,677 are vacant. ICU beds with ventilators, however, are in short supply and out of 1,332 beds, only 156 are vacant. In private hospitals, getting beds even in general wards is proving to be a struggle.

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Following a review meeting by the home ministry Sunday, more doctors and paramedical staff are also expected to join the centre.

A spokesperson of the ITBP said, “As the number of Covid cases rise in the capital, we are expanding facilities offered at the centre. Till now, the need for oxygen beds has not arisen. In a day or two, we will be ready with 1,000 beds with oxygen support.” He said that, so far, not a single patient admitted at the facility had died since the first set of patients was admitted in July.

Till the morning of November 16, 10,800 patients admitted at the centre had recovered.

The spokesperson added that Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) doctors will be flying down to Delhi: “We currently have 100 doctors and over 200 paramedical staff. Another 75 doctors and 250 paramedic staff are flying down from different places in the country.”