Covid: Pune is running out of ventilators, has just 2 ICU beds available

All of the 469 ventilators are occupied and only two ICU beds without ventilator of the 360 are available in Pune Municipal Corporation area

If rising infections in Maharashtra were not enough to be a cause of concern, serious infections or critical cases have also growing. On Thursday, Maharashtra recorded 35,726 daily cases and data from Pune Municipal Corporation shows that the city ran out of ventilator beds.

In terms of ventilator beds without ICUs, PMC only had 2 of the 360 available. The occupancy rate for isolation beds with oxygen was 92 per cent, and in terms of overall beds, the occupancy was a high 90 per cent.

Mumbai, however, has been in a better condition. Although serious cases have increased in the city, it still has 17 per cent of its ventilator capacity available. In terms of ICU beds, about 20 per cent of the beds are available in the city. About 74 per cent of hospital beds in the city are occupied as of now.

In private hospitals, 25 per cent of ventilator beds and 26 per cent of ICU beds are available. In contrast, in government hospitals, only 13 per cent and 16 per cent of ventilator and ICU beds are available in Mumbai.

In Delhi, the occupancy rate for ventilators is just 40 per cent, with 323 ventilator beds occupied out of 786. In Chennai’s private hospitals, the occupancy was a lower 20 per cent for ventilators and 40 per cent for ICU beds.

The death rate in Pune has increased in the last month. A month ago, Pune had a death rate—daily deaths upon daily cases—of 0.25 per cent. On March 31, Pune’s death rate was 0.8 per cent. Until a month ago, Delhi was averaging one death; in the last week, there have been seven deaths daily.

Although the death rate in Mumbai has dipped, on account of wider testing and higher case detection, the average deaths have nearly tripled in the last month. Mumbai was averaging four deaths per day at the start of the month and is now averaging 11 deaths daily.