Create more COVID centres to increase number of beds with oxygen facility: Kejriwal

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New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday directed officials to ensure that the beds shown on the Delhi Corona app are actually available in real-time at hospitals and create.

He also said that efforts should be made to create more COVID care centres to increase the number of beds with oxygen facility. The directions were issued at a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in the national capital. Delhi recorded 19,486 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the highest single-day surge till date, and 141 fatalities from the infection, also the highest fatality count in a day, according to health department data.

“The chief minister directed officials to create more COVID facilities and to increase the strength of oxygen beds across Delhi. The officials were also asked to ensure real-time availability of beds of the Delhi Corona app and that the information on the number of beds is exact,” a Delhi government official said.

“It was discussed that there should be multiple assistance numbers in hospitals and nodal persons should be appointed at every helpline number so that no urgent call is missed or turned down,” he said.

The official said that health teams must reach out to every patient in home isolation and provide oximeters. “People should receive every assistance while they are in home isolation,” he added.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain. The additional chief secretary and the health secretary were among the senior officials who attended the meeting.

“The chief minister said that the focus of the Delhi government is towards increasing the bed capacity, which will ensure adequate treatment for people who require urgent assistance. In the meeting, bed management was discussed in detail,” the official said.

“It was directed to create more COVID facilities and to increase the strength of oxygen beds across Delhi,” he said.

The Delhi government had on Thursday announced sweeping restrictions, including a weekend curfew and the closure of malls, gyms, spas and auditoriums, in a bid to break the chain of COVID infections in the city.