New Delhi, Apr 11 (PTI) Mock drills were conducted at hospitals in Delhi to ascertain their preparedness to tackle COVID-19 amid a surge in cases in the national capital.

The city had reported almost 700 Covid cases and four deaths on Sunday, an increase of more than 200 infections from the previous day when three deaths were also recorded. As many as 484 cases were reported with a positivity rate of 26.58 per cent on Monday.

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The mock drill conducted on Tuesday was part of a nationwide exercise to take stock of the hospitals' preparedness to tackle the surge in Covid cases. Officials had already announced that both public and private facilities are expected to participate in the exercise conducted on April 10 and 11.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya visited the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital here on Monday to review the measures taken to combat the disease.

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At Delhi government-run hospitals, the exercise was undertaken on Tuesday. Suresh Kumar, the medical director of the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, said more cases are being reported in the city but there is no need to panic.

"Only 10 patients have been admitted to our hospital, while 440 Covid beds are vacant. The objective of the exercise is to ascertain our preparedness in terms of availability of essential medicine, equipment and staff," he said.

Talking about the recent Covid-related deaths, Kumar said only those who had severe comorbidities like tuberculosis, cancer, chronic lung diseases etc succumbed to the infection.

A senior doctor at the Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital told PTI, "The exercise was conducted to test our Covid preparedness, including the availability of beds, oxygen and other healthcare logistic requirements to deal with any eventuality in view of a rising number of COVID-19 and influenza-type cases."

The hospital has 325 beds and according to instructions issued by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently, an isolation room with a set of beds has been set up at the facility, he said.

The Delhi government-run hospitals had taken part in a mock drill on March 26 as well. This was on the instructions of the city health department.

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday said a report on the March 26 mock drill was submitted to the chief minister and other authorities.

Delhi has seen an increase in the number of fresh Covid cases over the last few days, amid a sharp rise in H3N2 influenza cases in the country.

Of the four deaths reported on Sunday, three people died due to various diseases and Covid was only "incidental" in these cases, while in one case, the primary cause was Covid, Bharadwaj told reporters on Monday.

Delhi recorded 535 Covid cases on Saturday with a positivity rate of 23.05 per cent.

The city logged 733 Covid cases -- the highest in more than seven months -- with a positivity rate of 19.93 per cent on Friday.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)