Delhi to give Oximeter for all COVID-19 patients at home; ramp up plasma therapy trials
All COVID-19 patients in Delhi who are recovering at home will be provided Oximeter so that they can keep checking their oxygen levels at regular intervals. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a press conference, said that this was being done because of a trend that was being observed that with some patients oxygen level drops despite no symptoms. Kejriwal also announced that after positive results in initial trials, Delhi govt has now got a green light for administering plasma therapy for 200 more COVID-19 patients.
"We are providing Oximeter to all COVID-19 patients who are recovering at home. They should keep checking their oxygen levels every couple of hours. If their oxygen level drops below 94, they should call us and we would send emergency oxygen at their doorstep. They will also be hospitalised if the need arrives," Kejriwal said.
He further added, "We have seen in some instances the oxygen level drops significantly in COVID-19 patients but they show no symptoms. And then all of a sudden they collapse. So periodically checking your oxygen level is of utmost importance in these times."
Plasma Therapy will also now be administered on a larger scale in Delhi after the positive results that were seen amongst the first 26 patients who were given the therapy to cure them of coronavirus.
"We have been given a go-ahead by the Central government to administer Plasma Therapy to 200 more patients after the initial results were promising. This will be beginning across hospitals in Delhi. Some of the private hospitals have also not got permission to administer Plasma Therapy," Kejriwal said.
The Delhi CM also confirmed that of the 26,000 active cases in the national capital, 20,000 people are at home while only 6,000 people are being treated at various hospitals. "There are 13,500 beds available in Delhi, but only 6,000 are in use. We are comfortable as far as the number of beds is concerned," he said.
Kejriwal added that there might come a time when Delhi might need more ICU beds to reduce fatalities to as minimal a number as possible and that all preparations were being made to cater to that.
Delhi has become India's worst-hit city by COVID-19 surpassing Mumbai. There have been over 75,000 COVID-19 cases being reported in Delhi. Out of these cases, over 60% have recovered while about 2,400 people have succumbed to the illness.
