Third wave raises oxygen bed requirement overnight in Chandigarh

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 6

The requirement of oxygen (O2) beds by Covid-19 patients has jumped 108 per cent overnight as active cases touched 900 in Chandigarh.

Till yesterday, only 45 patients requiring oxygen support were admitted to government hospitals. Around 23 per cent of the presently available Covid oxygen beds have been occupied in city government hospitals.

As per the contingency plan of the UT Administration, plans are afoot to increase the capacity of Covid beds as the cases increase in the city. However, the requirement predicted for Covid-19 beds in the third wave is lesser than the beds required in the second wave, which crippled the healthcare system across the region.

Against the 3,740 Covid beds used during the second wave, Chandigarh has predicted the requirement of 1,702 Covid beds in the third wave and 133 more beds can be converted for Covid patients on a short notice. At a time when a rapid rise in cases has increased hospitalisation, underplaying the bed requirement for the third wave can prove to be challenging for the city.

UT Health Secretary Yashpal Garg said: “The estimated requirement is based on the mathematical modelling done by the Government of India. We have sufficient number of beds and less number of people need hospitalisation this time.”

Scientific Advisor Dr Rajeev Jayadevan said: “From South Africa’s recent Omicron wave, we saw that patients requiring oxygen was only 17 per cent as compared to the Delta wave when it was 74 per cent there. ICU admission rate was half and the patients were about two decades younger. Though the rise was steep, the wave did not last long and settled quickly. South Africa’s vaccination rate is far behind India, but its natural infection prevalence, although not correctly known, is likely to be high. India has high seroprevalence, well over 90 per cent in some areas, which will mean milder Omicron disease.”

Dr Jayadevan said, “Therefore, the percentage of patients requiring oxygen will definitely be lower than the Delta wave. Since the variant is spreading faster, incubation period is shorter by 1 day and the R value is 2.69, which means 100 people can with infect 269 people. It is, therefore, better to be over-prepared, than to underestimate the requirements.”