Hospital bed occupancy down to 15 percent

Anantnag: Even as fear of a third wave of Covid-19 looms large in Kashmir valley, there are only 530 patients admitted to different hospitals in Kashmir, with the hospital bed occupancy dropping to only 15 percent.
Kashmir valley has at present 4,883 active cases of Covid-19.
The bed occupancy has come down by around 25 percent since May 15 when the occupancy across 24 Covid designated hospitals was 40.7 percent. The number of designated hospitals right now is 25, with the addition of a 500-bed hospital at Khonmoh, on the outskirts of Srinagar city.
At present, Kashmir valley, as per government records, has a total of 3,353 isolation beds available for treatment of Covid infection. “Oof these, 530 beds remain occupied as of now,” an official privy to the data told Kashmir Reader.
The bed occupancy, the official said, was around 15 percent. The bed occupancy was 37.7 percent on June 7, Kashmir Reader had reported.
“Only six patients, as of now, are on invasive ventilation and as many as 21 are on non-invasive ventilation. All six patients on invasive ventilation are admitted to SMHS hospital in Srinagar,” the official said.
Nine of the patients on non-invasive ventilation are admitted to SKIMS hospital in Soura, six at the SMHS hospital and other 6 at SKIMS Bemina. There are no patients on any kind of ventilation admitted to any of the other major hospitals in Kashmir valley.
Also, of the 530 patients admitted with Covid infection 285 are under treatment in four major hospitals in Srinagar city-including SKIMS Soura, SMHS, CD Hospital in Dalgate and SKIMS Bemina.
“That is 53 percent of the total admitted with Covid infection,” the official said, adding that the number of such patients admitted to other hospitals was thinning out fast.
At Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital Anantnag, only 19 Covid patients are admitted while in Trauma Hospital Bijbehara the number of patients has come down to three.
Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital Baramulla, however, has as many as 48 beds occupied with Covid infected patients.
The thinning out of patients has been possible only with a rising recovery rate and lesser number of new cases being reported. As on June 21, the recovery rate in Kashmir valley stands at 96.3 percent.
Meanwhile, as few as 261 cases were reported on Monday in ten districts of Kashmir valley. However, 7 people also lost their lives to the infection, taking the overall death toll in Kashmir valley to 2188.

Suhail A Shah