The Delhi government is planning to create a tented 10,000-bed temporary hospital for COVID-19 patients in south Delhi, in line with preparation to deal with a projected surge of infection cases in the Capital.
The planned facility is to come up at the south Delhi campus of spiritual organisation Radha Soami Satsang Beas located near the Delhi-Haryana border.
It will be 1,700-feet-long and 700-feet-wide and have 200 enclosures with 50 beds each, according to Vikas Sethi, secretary of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, Bhati Mines.
The makeshift hospital will be the largest such facility in the city so far.
The work is expected to be completed by the end of June, he said, adding that the metal tent will also have lights and fans.
Coolers will be needed, considering the heat. Medical staff can also be accommodated in a building on the campus, he added.
The spiritual organisation gave its approval for the makeshift hospital recently even as the Delhi government is in the process of identifying community halls and stadiums which can be converted into makeshift COVID-19 hospitals.
According to the Delhi government’s estimates, COVID-19 cases in the Capital are likely to breach the five- lakh mark by the end of July.
One lakh beds needed
Around one lakh beds will be needed for COVID-19 patients. So far, there are a total of 9,647 dedicated COVID-19 beds in Delhi government, central and private hospitals, of which 5,402 are occupied.
