Amid reports regarding shortage of Covid-19 beds in hospitals in the national Capital, Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said that there are enough hospital beds available for coronavirus patients.

“The Covid care centres of the Delhi Government have 5,525 beds out of which only 286 are occupied as of yet, directly implying that less than five per cent are occupied and 95 per cent are vacant. No city has done tests as much as the Kejriwal-led Government has conducted,” he said.

Jain mentioned that there has not been any shortage of ventilators in hospitals. “Delhi Government has consistently been conducting more than 1 lakh tests and its testing capacity is more than twice the number of tests being conducted in any city. More than one lakh tests are being carried out from which 70 per cent is RT-PCR,” he said.

The Government is continuously increasing the designated beds.  It has increased from six thousand to 13 thousand and more beds are being consistently increased.

The health minister also advised people not to rush towards getting hospitalised after testing positive as fever or any other mild symptom can be treated through home isolation.

“Until the time one is not advised by the doctor for hospitalisation, they must refrain from going to the hospitals. In case mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic patients rush to the hospitals, the ones who have been advised and are facing severe symptoms might face some problems in accessing the beds,” he added.

He stressed that there was a need to avoid unnecessary movements for some time and follow COVID-19 appropriate behavior to fight this virus collectively.

“The easiest way to stop the virus is to wear a mask as it will help in containing the outbreak extensively.  The COVID-19 appropriate behaviour is indispensable to our fight against covid-19. This includes wearing masks, maintaining proper hygiene, and being socially distanced. Any complacency in this regard can prove to be detrimental,” he added.

Responding to questions surrounding the doubling rate of cases, the Minister said, “Since the past few weeks, cases are doubling in Delhi as well as the country. The cases are 13,468. Last year, the fatality rate was somewhere between 2-3 per cent in November. It is saddening because there should not be a single fatality. However, currently, the rate is less than 0.5 per cent.”