CM Kejriwal warns hospitals denying admission to Covid-19 patients
NEW DELHI : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday alleged there are some private hospitals who are indulging in black marketing of beds in response to reports that there is a shortage of beds for corona virus patients in the city. He warned the hospitals in the city of strict action if they engage in black marketing of beds.
Warning of strict action, the CM said Delhi government teams are monitoring the “black marketing of beds” and said strict action will be taken in the next few days if hospitals do not start admitting patients, even as he said that some specialised hospitals have come forward with genuine concerns.
“We set up your hospitals in Delhi not to make money but to serve the people of Delhi. There are 3-4 hospitals that are favoring the accounts of other parties. Some hospitals are denying admission to Covid-19 patients. I am warning those who think they will be able to do black-marketing of beds using the influence of their protectors from other parties, you will not be spared,” Arvind Kejriwal said in an online address.
The number of corona virus cases in India rose to 2,36,657 on Friday, taking the country to the sixth spot worldwide above Italy, while the number of deaths crossed 6,600, according to data provided by the union health ministry.
In the last 24 hours, India saw yet another record high in terms of daily infections as well as patient deaths at 9,887 and 294 respectively. India now has over 1.15 lakh active cases, with a sharp spike in infections in the last few days.
There is no shortage of beds for critical corona virus patients in Delhi and no one showing symptoms should be turned away, Chief Minister said today amid criticism and complaints on social media over alleged lack of attention from hospitals to those who are turning up to get admitted. Mr Kejriwal said some hospitals are “doing mischief” and they will not be spared.
“Please allow a few days for us to sort this out. We will investigate and take action against those who are refusing patients even when beds are available… Some are involved in black-marketing of beds,” the Chief Minister said.
Delhi recorded 1,330 fresh coronavirus cases on Friday, taking the COVID-19 tally in the city beyond the 26,000-mark, and the number of deaths due to the disease jumped to 708, the authorities said.
Some have tweeted that they were made to run from one hospital to another and refused admission or testing, despite showing symptoms. “We launched a mobile app to stop the black marketing of beds. We thought of making information about number of beds and ventilators in hospitals transparent. There was uproar over it as if we committed a crime,” Mr Kejriwal said.
