No hospitals in UP to turn away the COVID-19 patients: UP govt

LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed state government officials on Sunday, April 25, and said that no hospitals will turn away the patients infected with the novel coronavirus and if state-run hospitals are short of beds, they can be sent to the private hospitals on the expense of the Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP).

The decision came after several hospitals in UP are facing an acute shortage of beds which has forced the families of the patients to run from one hospital to another. In Ghaziabad, the capacity of Intensive Care Units (ICU) beds is almost full and that of COVID-19 beds is around 80 per cent. According to a family member of a COVID-19 patient, the hospitals in Lucknow are asking for a referral letter from the office of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO).

Uttar Pradesh is the second worst-hit state in the country from the pandemic which has till now added over 1.05 million cases and reported around 11,000 deaths. On Saturday, April 24, the state added almost 39,000 new COVID-19 cases, which is the highest single day spike in the state. Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, and Meerut are some of the highest contributor to the toll of the state.

CM Adityanath also announced that all the COVID-19 hospitals will be required to publicly announce their vacant bed count at least twice a day and all the patients admitted in the government hospitals will be administered free of cost Remdesivir injections. No fees will be charged for cremating the patients and the rates have been fixed for testing and treatment, the official statement said.