As the COVID-19 positivity rate slowed in the national capital, Delhi's Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital has witnessed an increase in bed occupancy by non-COVID patients with about 100-110 patients admitting daily, said Dr Suresh Kumar, Medical Director of the hospital.
"Out of 2,000 beds, 1,000 beds have been occupied by non-COVID patients. We are daily admitting 100-110 non-COVID patients. Bed occupancy by such patients is increasing," Dr Kumar told ANI on Thursday.
LNJP hospital was declared as a dedicated hospital for admitting COVID-19 patients on March 17, 2020, when the first wave of the pandemic hit the country.
He further said that these non-COVID patients include people suffering from cancer, delivery cases, and other who want to get surgery done.
Upon asking if the increase in bed occupancy will be an obstacle in a possible third-wave, Dr Kumar said, "No. We have a dedicated building for COVID-19 patients which is empty. We have left about 1,500 beds vacant for COVID-19 patients." According to the Medical Director, the increase in bed occupancy at LNJP hospital is due to referral cases that they get from across north India.
"We get a lot of referral cases from north India, that is why the admission rate of non-COVID has increased," he said.
Delhi on Thursday reported 49 new COVID-19 cases, 41 recoveries and zero deaths in a span of 24 hours. There are 502 active cases in the national capital while the daily positivity rate stood at 0.07 per cent. Since the onset of the pandemic, 14,36,938 cases, 14,11,368 recoveries and 25,068 deaths have been recorded due to the virus.
