Ahmedabad civic body denotifies designated Covid-19 hospitals as cases dip

Nine private hospitals were among 70-odd facilities asked in May to accommodate Covid-19 patients

Ahmedabad's civic agency said on Monday it has decided to denotify some designated Covid-19 hospitals in view of the number of coronavirus cases coming down in the city.

In the first phase, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has denotified nine private hospitals so that beds reserved there for Covid-19 cases are released for the treatment of non-coronavirus patients, the civic body said in a release.

These nine private hospitals were among 70-odd facilities which were roped in by the AMC since May to accommodate Covid-19 patients.

The civic body has also decided to significantly reduce the beds reserved for Covid-19 patients in two other hospitals, the release said.

The AMC said effective measures have "resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of positive cases and deaths" in the city.

The positivity rate has also come down from 35 per cent to around 2.5 per cent, the release said.

"Consequently, as against the reserved bed capacity in these designated hospitals, bed occupancy has come down to around 40 per cent," it said.

As per the state government data, nearly 150 new cases are being reported in Ahmedabad city daily since the last couple of weeks, and as many patients are also recovering every day.

The AMC had since May designated around 60 private hospitals to treat coronavirus patients in order to ease the burden on government-run facilities in the city.

As per the agreement, each hospital can utilise 50 per cent of their beds for private quota patients, while the remaining 50 per cent beds should be reserved for patients sent by the civic body.

While the government has already capped the treatment charges on private quota Covid-19 patients, the AMC pays a stipulated amount to these hospitals for each coronavirus patient sent by the civic body.

Last month, the AMC designated 15 more private hospitals for Covid-19 care and these facilities were allowed to utilise 100 per cent of their beds to admit private quota patients.

Among the nine hospitals which were denotified on Monday, four were having the 50:50 quota arrangement, while five were using all their beds to admit private quota patients, the release said.