THOUGH HOME isolation of the majority of 50,000-plus active Covid-19 patients in the city is a big relief to the civic administration, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is facing a tough challenge as 70 percent of the hospitalised patients are on oxygen support. Till April 18, the PMC had 56,636 active patients. The number continues to rise daily due to fast spreading of infection. Fortunately, most of the patients either have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic and preferring home isolation. At present, over 45,000 patients are in home isolation. “There is limited availability of beds for hospitalisation of Covid-19 patients even though the PMC is working hard to increase the number of beds in the city. Over 80 percent of active patients are in home isolation, which is a big relief. The percentage of those in need of hospitalisation could be less, but the number of active patients is increasing,” said a PMC official. Of 9,606 patients hospitalised across the city, he said, more than half are on oxygen support and around 12 percent are in critical condition. “The number of patients on oxygen support and those in critical condition are continuously changing as patients in home isolation report their changing health condition. At present, total 5,926 patients are on oxygen support, while the total number of beds for those in need of oxygen is 6,002. Also, 1,268 patients are in critical condition and admitted to ICUs in various city hospitals. The demand for ICU beds continues to increase,” he added. The demand for medical oxygen in city hospitals is also rising. The civic administration has placed an order to get it from neighbouring Karnataka. It has also decided to start a small capacity oxygen-generation plant at Naidu Hospital and Dalvi Hospital. - Stay updated with the latest Pune news. Follow Express Pune on Twitter here and on Facebook here. You can also join our Express Pune Telegram channel here. “The PMC plans to add 512 new beds for Covid-19 patients in the city this week so that more critical patients can be hospitalised,” said Municipal Commissioner Vikram Kumar during a recently held review meeting. Mayor Murlidhar Mohol suggested that the state should increase the number of beds for Covid-19 patients in Sassoon Hospital, which has the total capacity of 1,750 beds. A meeting of the hospital authorities was convened by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday to discuss the rising demand of beds for Covid-19 patients. Pawar said the number of beds for Covid-19 patients in Sassoon Hospital would be increased. “We would discuss it with the resident doctors and take appropriate steps to increase the number of beds for Covid-19 patients in the hospital,” he added.
