Amid a surge of dengue cases, Delhi’s government has directed both public and private hospitals in the Indian capital region to reserve beds for patients with vector-borne diseases (VBDs), officials said Wednesday.
The order was issued by Delhi’s health department on Tuesday, asking local hospitals and nursing homes to reserve 10-15 percent of their beds to ensure that no patient suffering from dengue or any other VBDs is denied admission due to a lack of beds in the hospital.
Hospitals are also required to provide the beds reserved for COVID-19 patients to dengue and other VBD patients if they are lying vacant.
Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia said the Delhi government has put all the local hospitals on alert and was keeping an eye on the whole situation.
“Present weather conditions are the peak transmission period for vector-borne diseases like dengue. Cases have seen a sharp rise in the last two weeks but there is no need to panic as all the arrangements have been set in place to provide treatment to patients at hospitals,” Sisodia was quoted as saying in a statement.
According to a related report from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi released on Monday, the Indian capital registered 321 new dengue cases in the week ending Oct. 5, taking Delhi’s cumulative case count to 1,258.
So far Delhi has not reported any deaths this year due to dengue, which is a mosquito-borne viral disease.
Health experts say those who become infected with the dengue virus a second time are at a significantly greater risk of developing severe disease. The dengue virus causes fever, body aches, nausea, vomiting, and internal bleeding or a fatal drop in blood pressure in severe cases. ■
