NEW DELHI: The Centre issued an advisory on Friday to all hospitals and medical education institutions — both public and private — asking them to set aside beds, prepare isolation facilities, procure sufficient numbers of ventilators, high-flow oxygen mass and mobilise additional manpower to step up combat readiness to take on Covid-19.
The measures come as cases continue to rise, though they are still not a surge or a spike, and reflect the government’s assessment that the healthcare system needs to be ready for a contingency of a large number of patients. Though there is no community spread yet, medical facilities are being prepped for such a scenario and to also ensure a more even distribution of resources across the country.
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Officials said the government was taking focused steps to ramp up preparedness in terms of capacity-building and procurement of essential items. So far, 19,111 isolation beds have been reserved in public and private hospitals, up fr