500 railway coaches for Delhi to increase bed strength

NEW DELHI: Given the rapid growth of corona positive cases in Delhi, the Centre has agreed to provide 500 railway coaches to the city to bridge the shortage of beds for quarantining patients of the city. Amit Shah, Union Home Minister, announced the Centre’s decision after his meeting with Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister, Delhi, on June 14.

The move will add 8,000 more beds to the existing strength of beds in Delhi, while also increasing facilities and equipment to treat the infection simultaneously. Delhi has a total bed capacity of 9,698 out of which 4,248 are vacant at present, Delhi’s coronavirus app says.

Even as the cases continue to mount, authorities expect worse, as Manish Sisodia recently announced that the capital alone is likely to witness over 5 lakh cases of the virus in the near future. In order to incorporate the expected increase in cases, Delhi Government is also planning to use over 40 hotels and 77 banquet halls as makeshift hospitals.

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister, and Anil Baijal, Lieutenant Governor, Delhi, also attended the meeting. Officials of State Management Authority were also present.

The pandemic has grown worse in the national capital in the past few days. Delhi reported 12,246 in the previous week, compared to the 9,092 cases registered in the week before, marking a 35 per cent increase. The number of containment zones has also increased significantly, growing from 147 on June 1 to 219 on June 14. 

As the cases continuously ramp up in the city, Vijay Dev, Chief Secretary, Delhi, announced that testing facilities are to be ramped up to 10,000 in the next two days and would also ensure 100 per cent testing in the containment zones. Till date, the total testing in the city stands at 290592, out of which 41,182 have tested positive. 20,793 are home quarantined as of now.

1327 Delhites have succumbed to the disease till date.