Delhi COVID cases: Two-fold rise in Hospitalisations in over two weeks

New Delhi: Amid a spike in the COVID cases in the capital, the rate of hospitalization has nearly doubled in over two weeks.

According to data released by the Delhi State Health Bulletin, hospital admissions have increased since August 1. The number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital has increased from 307 to 588, with 205 still needing oxygen support and 22 still requiring ventilator support. As of August 16, there were 202 ICU admissions doubled from 98 on August 1.

The number of COVID hospitalised patients in the city in the last two weeks is considered the highest surge since April. Delhi has always been the hotspot for the contamination of the virus with numbers subsiding up and down in the last seven months. 

However, the positivity rate is 9.92 % as per the Delhi Health Department bulletin on Wednesday. It was recorded highest in the last 7 months on Tuesday with a 19.20 per cent positivity rate.

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In response to the highest positivity rate in the city, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday said people who have taken precautionary doses of vaccines are safer from infection than others.

In order to keep Delhiites safe from coronavirus, the AAP government has increased the pace of inoculation of precaution doses, the Delhi government said.

"Ninety per cent of corona-infected patients admitted to the hospital are those patients who have taken only two doses of the vaccine.

"At the same time, only 10 per cent of the patients got corona infected after the third dose of the vaccine. It is clear from this that people who apply precautionary doses are safer from corona infection," he asserted.

Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director of Lok Nayak Hospital, told TOI, "There currently are 54 patients admitted for COVID-19, with four patients on ventilator support. Two or three patients have comorbid health conditions such as cancer, tuberculosis and kidney dysfunction. The rest of the patients are in stable condition."

Taking into account the increasing number of COVID-19 patients and the need to hospitalize seriously ill patients, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi issued a notice on Tuesday. "Two beds each in various COVID wards will be allotted to the infected patients including orthopaedics, dermatology, gastroenterology, medicine, urology, ENT, paediatric surgery, paediatrics, endocrinology and gastrointestinal surgery wards. These beds will be under the administrative control of the duty officers and will be allotted to seriously ill emergency patients on the recommendation of the emergency CMO," the notice read.

It further added, "Seriously ill COVID-19 patients with comorbidities, etc., requiring inpatient hospitalisation will be admitted in the C-6 ward under the clinical department/unit concerned."

Dr Sumit Ray, head of critical care medicine, Holy Family Hospital said "We are seeing many such cases. Many more are coming with diarrhoea and abdominal symptoms than during the previous surges. There are also anxiety admissions of patients with comorbidities coming to the hospital out of fear."

Dr Avi Kumar, senior pulmonology consultant, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute said, "Patients with comorbid conditions such as diseases of the heart, liver, kidney and lung and elderly patients are being admitted. Elderly patients with pneumonia who are COVID-positive have a poor prognosis."

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