The Delhi High Court has asked the Delhi Government to treat a plea as a representation seeking directions to make bigger hospitals in time for the expected third wave of coronavirus pandemic and to make use of stadiums as Covid facilities and to shift healthcare workers from small hospitals to bigger hospitals for Covid treatment.
On Monday, the bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh asked the government to treat the writ petition filed by Devendra Gupta, Petitioner in Person, against the Health and Family Welfare Department as a representation. The petition had sought the court’s indulgence to appoint pandemic experts for accurate and timely prediction of Covid-19 waves.
The petitioner in person is a retired Chief Engineer from telecom department and has done M.Tech in Civil Engineering with L. LB.
Due to the sudden surge in coronavirus infections, the second wave has consumed many lives and infected numerous people and the third wave is likely to arrive as it is being predicted by the experts, the petitioner said.
Amidst all this, the petitioner has challenged the expertise of people who have failed to predict and suggest appropriate remedial measures in the second wave in India and whether they are qualified to deal with the third wave. Secondly, the petitioner has stated that it will be extremely difficult for Doctors and Nursing staff to perform their duties in Open ground Makeshift Hospitals after wearing PPE kits, During summer and rainy season due to High Temperature and Humidity. So it will be advisable to create make shift hospitals in covered stadium.
Thirdly, the petition asked, if it is advisable to shift nurses and medical staff who are presently working in a hospital of less than 50 beds to makeshift hospitals of at least 500 beds.
The petitioner referred as to how the positivity rate of Covid-19 has shot up from 0.33% to 36.24% from 2.3.2021, so rapidly within a short span. He also raised contention that due to shortage of oxygen and lack of medical infrastructure and failure to provide essential medicines to public including Covid-19 patients, lost their lives due to aforementioned reason.
He referred to the website, coronabeds.janatasamvad.org, which shows number of vacant beds, and in case someone makes a call on the number given on website of hospital, it states the number is temporarily out of service. Not even medical staff with Covid 19 are getting beds in hospitals, the petition said. With the acute shortage of trained medical staff in order to deal with Covid-19, MBBS students /nursing students are being deployed to assist trained staff in hospitals.