JOIN USFive more chikungunya deaths were reported in the city on Friday, taking the toll to 18 so far this season.
The Delhi government has now termed chikungunya a “dangerous disease” and directed all the hospitals to report the cases to the municipal corporations.
Dengue, the other mosquito-borne disease which has hit the capital this season, has so far claimed 13 lives.
To tackle the rush of patients which the city government hospitals are receiving from neighbouring states, the Centre-run hospitals will reserve 1,000 beds in its hospitals to treat patients suffering from vector-borne diseases.
In a joint meeting on Friday, the Centre, the Delhi government and the governments of neighbouring states decided to open fever clinics in National Capital Region so that patients are not forced to rush to the national capital and overburden the infrastructure here.
While two more persons died of chikungunya at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Thursday, one suspected chikungunya patient had succumbed to the disease on September 9 at another private hospital.
Ganga Ram Hospital authorities said that both patients, aged 70 and 75, were found positive for chikungunya. “One of them had hypertension and the other one was diabetic,” said the hospital. “Both of them were admitted to the hospital in a critical stage. One died at 4.30 pm and the other at 5 pm on Thursday,” it added. The Centre-run Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme said that it has received two cases of suspected chikungunya deaths at different hospitals.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the government has asked the municipal corporations to notify chikungunya as “dangerous disease”.
“It has come to light that hospitals were not providing addresses of the patients to the municipal corporations. Under the law, the MCD has to carry out fogging thrice in the area where the patient lives," said Jain. "But in the absence of addresses, the MCD was not able to do fogging at the residence of the patients,” he added.
Jain requested Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday to reserve beds for such patients in each of the Centre-run hospitals here.
The Centre has agreed to reserve 1,000 beds in All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ram Manohar Lohia and Safdarjung hospitals for patients suffering from vector borne diseases, said Jain.
Jain said that AIIMS has stated that 80% of the patients suffering from vector-borne disease, which the hospital is seeing, belong to neighbouring states.
Jain added that fever clinics will be opened at the National Capital Region (NCR) to treat people complaining of fever.
Jain added that some 1,500 beds have been lying unoccupied in Delhi government hospitals. “No patient will be turned away.”