February 26, 2026 05:04 am (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
India-US trade deal at risk? Trump imposes massive 126% duty on solar imports | ‘My life reflects this reality’: Shooter Tara Shahdeo recalls forced conversion amid Kerala Story 2 row | Modi begins Israel visit to boost defence, tech and strategic ties | Trump claims Pakistan PM told him he prevented 35 million deaths by stopping India-Pakistan conflict | Supreme Court's big move over Bengal SIR! Odisha, Jharkhand judicial officers allowed to complete revision process | ‘Kerala lives in harmony, film’s portrayal wrong’: Kerala High Court raps Kerala Story sequel makers | AI panic hits IT giants: Infosys, TCS, Wipro lead massive market rout as stocks sink to alarming lows | ‘No systemic risk’: Sanjay Malhotra breaks silence on ₹590 crore IDFC First Bank Limited fraud | India urges all nationals to leave Iran 'by available means' as US-Iran tension grows | India shines at BAFTA! All you need to know about Manipuri film Boong that stunned global cinema
Delhi | Covid-19

Kejriwal flags shortage of ICU beds, oxygen as Covid-19 cases jump by 30 pc in 24 hrs in Delhi

| @indiablooms | Apr 18, 2021, at 08:14 pm

Delhi/IBNS: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday urged Home Minister Amit Shah to increase the Covid-19 beds with oxygen in the government hospitals in national capital as the city recorded a spike in positivity rate from 30 per cent from around 24 per cent the previous day, adding that less than 100 ICU beds were left in Delhi to treat critically ill Covid patients.

“In the last 24 hours, Delhi recorded around 25,500 new cases, up from around 24,000 the previous day and 19,500 new cases the day before that. The more concerning thing is that the positivity rate in the last 24 hours has gone up to 30% from around 24% the previous day,” said Kejriwal in a video press briefing on Sunday, quoted HT.

“Cases are increasing at a fast rate and Covid-19 beds are getting occupied across the city. People are getting admitted in hospitals at an unprecedented rate. There is a major crisis of ICU beds. There are less than 100 ICU beds left in Delhi. We are facing a major shortage of oxygen too. Last night, a private hospital told us that they almost ran into a disaster situation last night with a major shortage of oxygen supply,” he further added.

“We are constantly in touch with the Central government. We are getting a lot of help from them. We thank them for that. Yesterday I spoke with Union health minister Harsh Vardhan. He was informed about the situation," he said..

"Today, I spoke to Union home minister Amit Shah over phone. I have told him that we need more beds. In Delhi, the Central government hospitals collectively have around 10,000 beds, of which around 1,800 are currently reserved for Covid-19 patients. I have requested him (Shah) to reserve at least 7,000 beds for Covid-19. The situation in Delhi is deteriorating every second. I also requested that oxygen supply be provided to us immediately,” said Kejriwal.

The chief minister said that the Delhi government is adding more than 6,000 additional Covid-19 beds with oxygen facilities in the course of 2-3 days in  Covid treatment facilities set up at Commonwealth Games (CWG) village, Yamuna Sports Complex, and premises of Radha Soami Satsang Beas.

“We don’t know how many ICU beds we will be able to increase in such a short time. There are limitations. But we have seen that most patients primarily need high-flow oxygen. So, we are arranging more high-flow oxygen systems so that more beds can be converted into oxygen beds,” he said.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.