Delhi gears up as COVID patient count increases

As the coronavirus patient count is increasing in the city, the Delhi government and its Health Department has started making more preparations to deal with the numbers.

Speaking to IANS, a Health Department official said while the government has demanded more medical equipment from the Centre, it is also exploring options to engage the retired doctors.

"We are expecting more positive patients in a day or so among the people rescued from the Markaz building. The infection is not spreading locally. The Markaz patients are contributing the largest share in our patient count," the official told IANS.

"We are looking to engage retired doctors. However, we also have to keep in mind that aged people are more prone to the infection," the official added.

Also, the government has demanded supply of about one Lakh PPEs, and 50,000 more testing kits for the coronavirus.

"We may also need more ventilators if the patient count increases. At least 200 more ventilators will be required immediately."

The total number of coronavirus cases in Delhi has reached 386 on Friday with 93 new cases and two new deaths reported in the last 24 hours. Of the total positive cases, 369 were in the hospitals while two were on ventilators and 10 in ICU. IANS