Amid the alarming surge in Covid-19 cases in Delhi, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday (20 April) announced that over 2,100 oxygen beds and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds in the Central government hospitals are now available for the Covid-19 patients in the national capital.

"2105 beds (1875 oxygen beds and 230 ICU beds) in Central Govt Hospitals including Safdarjung, RML, LHMC, AIIMS Delhi, AIIMS Jhajjhar, ESIC Okhla and Jhilmil, and All India institute of Ayurveda, Sarita Vihar are available now for care of COVID patients of Delhi," the Health Ministry said on Tuesday (20 April).

With this, the number of beds for COVID patients in Delhi has increased by more than four times, from the 510 beds available on 1 March 2021, the ministry added.

The Health Ministry said that it was in the process of further increasing the COVID beds in Central government hospitals.

"Field Hospitals/makeshift facilities are being set up with the help of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), whereby 46 additional beds at Safdarjung Hospital and 240 beds at Lady Hardinge Medical College are expected to come up over the next two weeks," the ministry said.

In addition, in the DRDO facility in Dhaula Kuan, 250 ICU beds were made operational on 19 April, and another 250 ICU beds are being made operational on 21 April, it said.

Indian Railways has also committed to providing 50 coaches with 16 beds each at the Shakur Basti station, amounting to 800 beds, which can be used as isolation beds by Delhi government.

Further, Railways will also provide 25 Coaches with 16 beds each amounting to 400 beds in its Anand Vihar facility by21st April 2021.

The ministry said that the Centre was fully committed to tackling the COVID pandemic with all resources at its disposal.

Additional resources are also being marshalled and a ‘Whole of Government’ approach is being implemented to strengthen the hospital infrastructure across various states for prompt and effective treatment of COVID19 patients, the ministry added.