More than 500 pregnant women have delivered babies while being treated for coronavirus infection at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) in Delhi since March last year when it was declared a dedicated COVID-19 facility, officials said.
The national capital reported its first novel coronavirus case on March 1. After the viral infection began to spread, the LNJP Hospital in central Delhi was converted into a dedicated COVID-19 facility.
It is now one of the 81 sites in Delhi chosen for the mega anti-coronavirus immunisation exercise that was launched on Saturday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We have treated COVID-19 positive expecting mothers and successfully carried out deliveries for hundreds of such patients," Medical Superintendent of the hospital Dr Suresh Kumar said.
According to data shared by LNJP Hospital authorities, 10,851 patients have been successfully treated and discharged so far and many more are nearing full recovery.
"Among the COVID-19 positive women, 527 have delivered babies at our hospital, of which 224 were through cesarean procedure. Besides, 1,986 COVID dialysis sessions have been conducted," a senior doctor said, quoting official data from the hospital.
After rendering yeoman service for over nine months as a dedicated coronavirus facility, the 2,000-bed hospital and six other Delhi government-run facilities, were converted into partially COVID-19 hospitals.
The British-era hospital, which witnessed a large number of COVID-19 deaths at the height of the pandemic and was the scene of numerous distressful stories of many families, wore a festive look on Saturday as a massive vaccination roll-out exercise kicked off across the country.
Its main gates and out patient department (OPD) block entrance were decorated with flowers, balloons and buntings, adding to the cheerful atmosphere.
The medical superintendent, himself a COVID-19 survivor, said, "With the roll-out of the vaccination drive, we are on the verge of defeating this virus." "We have fought a tough battle and vaccination roll-out is a moment of jubilation. We have successfully treated nearly 11,000 patients till date, which is the highest in the country for any hospital. Many of our doctors, nurses and others, contracted the infection in the process," Dr. Kumar said.
OPD services have resumed at LNJP Hospital since January 4.
"The OPDs of medicine, surgery, paediatric and gynaecology have resumed at the LNJP Hospital. But, the number of patients who can be treated, has been capped to 50 for each of the four departments," an official at the hospital had earlier said.
Delhi registered 246 new coronavirus cases, the lowest in around eight months, and eight more deaths, as the positivity rate dipped to 0.36 % on Sunday.
This is the 14th time that the daily count stood below the 500 mark in January and the eight consecutive day when the figures have stood below the 400 mark.
The infection tally rose to 6.32 lakh and the death toll mounted to 10,746, according to a health bulletin.
