Sardar Patel Covid Centre likely to reopen by tomorrow

New Delhi: As the Covid-19 situation in the Capital spirals out of control with a severe shortage of beds and oxygen, officials in the Delhi government said on Friday that they are ready to reopen the largest Covid facility in the country with a capacity of 10,000 beds in South Delhi's Chattarpur area by Saturday or Sunday, with at least 500 oxygenated beds being made available immediately.

Named the Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre and Hospital, the facility inside the Radha Soami Satsang Beas campus, was shut down early this year after cases started dipping dramatically. But even as the Delhi government struggled to augment bed capacity while dealing with the oxygen crisis parallely, the Ministry of Home Affairs had not ordered the ITBP to move to Delhi and restart it.

A large number of personnel are currently posted in West Bengal for the state elections there.

The official said that for the first 500 beds, oxygen will be given via oxygen concentrators and oxygen cylinders. Replying to the question related to patients' admission, the official said that it will start after ITBP doctors and paramedical staff arrive. "Possibility that ITBP will arrive on Saturday and from Sunday we might start the facility," the official said.

According to the official, they have all the equipment, drugs and consumables. "They have been working day and night for the last couple of days to get all the necessary arrangements done by different departments like PWD, MTNL, BSES, DUSIB, DJB," the official said.

According to the official, "We are ready to restart. We got support from MHA, medical and paramedical staff from ITBP has been deployed and we are told they will be arriving tomorrow (Saturday)."

On Thursday, the Home Ministry designated the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) as the nodal force for re-operationalising the SPCCC.

Delhi Government sought medical officers and paramedical staff from MHA to man the SPCC at Chhatarpur.

As per the order, keeping in view the above request, it has been decided to provide an adequate number of medical officers and para-medical staff to man 500 Oxygenated beds at SPCCC. "ITBP may draw required medical manpower (doctors and para-medical staff), if needed, from other CAPFs also," the order

read.

By the end of Friday, the city had 22 vacant ICU beds and a little over 1,569 ward beds for Covid patients.

In addition, the Delhi Police has also assured that they will remain alert and provide all the help they can to provide oxygen or beds for those who need it.