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Over 50% of Covid ICU beds filled 

03 Aug 2021

  • 81 of 146 designated ICU beds utilised: Health Ministry
  • Sajith shows patients lying on floor mats without beds
  • All 10 ICU beds at Hemas occupied 
BY Pamodi Waravita Due to the rise in Covid-19 patients, 81 of the total of 146 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds earmarked for Covid-19 patients, or approximately 55%, are currently occupied, the Health Ministry told The Morning yesterday (3). The Health Ministry’s Communications Director and Public Health Services Deputy Director General Dr. Hemantha Herath told The Morning that 81 of the 146 ICU beds earmarked for Covid-19 patients are currently occupied. Dr. Herath said that 81 of the 146 ICU beds currently earmarked for Covid-19 patients are currently occupied. However, he added that individual hospitals may face difficulties when trying to locate an ICU bed for a Covid-19 patient during an emergency, as vacant beds may be located only in hospitals in a different province. Meanwhile, Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegeya (SJB) Leader Sajith Premadasa showed photos of Colombo hospitals in Parliament yesterday (3), saying that Covid-19 patients were sleeping on the hospital floors on mats as they have no available beds in hospitals. “I will send you these photos. Now patients are not lying in beds but are either standing or seated,” he told Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi in Parliament. He raised concerns about the increasing number of Covid-19 patients requiring hospital and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) treatment. “The question remains as to whether the hospital system can bear the burden of the B.1.617.2 Delta Indian strain of the Covid-19 virus, especially with the lifting of travel restrictions this week,” queried Premadasa. When contacted yesterday, the Association of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes (APHNH) Chairman Dr. Lakith Peiris told The Morning that the 10 fully fledged ICUs at Hemas Hospitals, of which he is the Managing Director, are occupied with Covid-19 patients. However, he was not aware of the status of other private hospitals. Meanwhile, the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children (LRH) Director Dr. G. Wijesuriya told The Morning last week that the ward dedicated to Covid-19 patients at the LRH in Colombo has reached its maximum capacity. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised serious concerns about the fast spread of the highly transmissible B.1.617.2 Delta Indian variant of the Covid-19 virus, which has already spread to all districts within the country, despite the fast vaccination rate. However, all state sector employees were called back to work this week while inter-provincial travel commenced again for state and private sector employees reporting to work. According to the Epidemiology Unit, 2,510 new Covid-19 patients were identified on Monday (2) with 67 new deaths also reported as a result of it, on the same day.  

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