Bengaluru, Karnataka’s worst-hit COVID district where patients struggled to find admission in hospitals, is now seeing a remarkable dip in the bed occupancy. The officials claimed that this is a clear indication of how the COVID-19 numbers have been falling in the city.
‘In a span of 30 days, bed occupancy in the city has fallen from 75 per cent to 26 per cent,’ said Randeep D, special commissioner, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). He also cited the high testing numbers and precautions being taken by the public as reasons behind the lowering number of cases.
As many as 11,396 beds are currently allocated for COVID-19 patients in the city, as per the BBMP data. These beds include 6,995 general beds, 3,285 high-dependency unit (HDU) beds, 592 ICU beds and 524 ICU-Ventilator beds. Among these, a total of 8,517 were unoccupied as of November 9, reported Deccan Herald.
‘The fall in occupancy is a clear indication of the decline in COVID-19 cases but it is also happening because 80% of new patients prefer home isolation,’ said Tushar Girinath, the IAS officer in charge of patient transport.
The data also shows that even ICU usage has seen a drop. About 54% (around 275) of ICU beds and 57% (around 225) of ICU-ventilator beds are vacant.. This is a dramatic reversal from September and October when these beds were subject to 100% occupancy.
‘The pressure to provide beds has eased but that does not mean we are in the clear yet. The government is prepared for a potential surge in cases in the future.
Meanwhile, with an expected rise in respiratory cases in the coming winter season, the government said it is scaling up its ICU bedding numbers to accommodate people with Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI).
‘The plan is to set aside 500 beds to address only SARI cases. Already, there are 150 such ICU beds under the jurisdictional control of Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST) and 108 which can be allocated quickly,’ added Tushar Girinath.
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