Madhya Pradesh: Indore to ramp up beds capacity as COVID-19 tally rises

The number of COVID-19 cases in Indore rose to 3,064 after 56 more people tested positive for the disease in the Madhya Pradesh district in last 24 hours, an official said on Monday.

The death toll rose to 116 after two more patients succumbed to the disease, Indore's Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Praveen Jadia said.

Fearing a big jump in the number of COVID-19 cases in the district in coming days, the district administration has started the process of increasing the bed capacity to 13,000 by July-end for patients.

"Right now, 1,472 COVID-19 patients are being treated in the district. In view of the government's estimate of rise in the number of cases, we have been asked to keep 13,000 beds ready by July-end, Jadia said.

Currently, around 4,000 beds have been reserved for COVID-19 patients in the district, he said.

"Efforts are on to scale up tests and designate more hospitals for treating COVID-19 patients," he said.

If required, hostels of the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management here will also be used for COVID-19 patients. Discussions on this have been held with managements of both the institutes, he said.

Dr Jadia said 56 new coronavirus patients have been found in Indore in last 24 hours, taking the tally to 3,064.

Besides, the death toll has also gone up to 116 following the death of a 62-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman at different hospitals on Saturday, he said.

So far, 1,476 patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovery.

Indore, which falls in the COVID-19 red zone, reported the disease outbreak on March 24, when four cases were found in the district.

The next day, authorities imposed curfew in the urban limits of Indore while lockdown was enforced elsewhere in the district.