BackCOVID-19 treatment: Centre suggests fixing charges at private hospitals in Delhi
In a bid to provide relief to common man, the central government has decided to fix the prices of coronavirus treatment in DelhiThe testing of COVID-19 infection in Delhi has also been ramped up in the last few days
PremiumIn a bid to provide relief to common man, the central government has decided to fix the prices of coronavirus treatment in Delhi. A committee formed by Union home minister Amit Shah, has recommended to cap the charges for COVID-19 treatment in the private hospitals. The committee has advised to fix rates for isolation beds within ₹8,000 to ₹10,000. For ICU unites without ventilators, the charges will be between ₹13,000 to ₹15,000. For ICU with ventilators, a bed will cost between ₹15,000 to ₹18,000. All the charges include PPE costs.
The Centre on Wednesday capped the price of RT-PCR test in Delhi at ₹2,400. "As per the directives of Home Minister Amit Shah in providing relief to the common man, High-level expert committee's report on 'COVID-19 testing rates' received by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been further sent to Delhi Govt for necessary action. It has been decided to fix the test rate at ₹2,400," spokesperson of Home Ministry tweeted.
With a record hike coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, Delhi's COVID-19 count inched towards the grim milestone of 50,000. The capital will be the third state after Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu to reach the mark. The death toll mounted to 1,969.
The Delhi government has also made arrangements to increase the number of ICU beds in hospitals in view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases, chief minister said.
"We may need more ICU beds in coming days. Arrangements are being made to increase ICU beds in the hospitals," he told reporters after visiting the Radha Soami Satsang Beas centre in Chhatarpur to review COVID-19 preparations.
Kejriwal also said the Delhi government has taken over various hotels and banquet halls to arrange more beds for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
"Some of the hotels appealed to the court for a stay order, but we have won the case and the work of converting the hotels into isolation centres is in process," Kejriwal said.
The testing of COVID-19 infection in Delhi has also been ramped up in the last few days. Over 27,263 sample have been collected in the capital from June 15 to 17.
Delhi government has also started rapid antigen tests for detecting coronavirus patients. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved antigen test for coronavirus that can give results in just 30 minutes. This faster and cheaper method will help to increase the testing capacity.
Union home minister Amit Shah met Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday to take a stock of the situation in the capital. According to his recommendation, the national capital has begun a house-to-house survey in the containment zones. A total of 2.3 lakh people were surveyed in Delhi's 242 containment zone to curb the spread of the virus.
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