Dengue death toll at 22 in Delhi: total cases 1029

New Delhi, Oct 10 (UNI) Delhi continued to remain in the grip of dengue with the total number of reported cases today mounting to 1,029 and 22 people succumbing to the viral disease so far.

MCD officials said of the total cases reported in Delhi till 1000 hrs this morning, 651 are from the capital.

As the dengue deluge continued in AIIMS, 43 more patients were admitted and as many were discharged in the past 24 hours.

Among the fresh cases, three were from the AIIMS campus. The total number of cases in the institute now stands at 173, doctors said. Of the total number of cases in AIIMS, 29 are from the institute.

No dengue deaths were reported in the hospital in the past 24 hours, the doctors said. More than 8,000 patients have been screened at the AIIMS emergency OPD since Tuesday.

In AIIMS, the management has announced a contingency plan under which 100 additional doctors and 50 interns have been put on duty in the dengue ward.

''All the additional doctors and interns will report to the Medical Superintendent of the Main Hospital for strengthening patient care,'' an AIIMS spokesperson said.

Some private wards have been converted into the general dengue ward to accommodate patients.

''Additional space has been created in the New Private Ward area (100 beds) by transferring the admitted dengue patients. Wards C-6 and D-6 have been designated as dengue wards,'' he added.

The contingency plan was decided at a meeting of heads of departments which was chaired by AIIMS Director P Venugopal yesterday.

The meeting also decided that a supervising committee of two resident doctors-- Dr Anil Sharma and Dr Binod Patra-- will work as an interface between patients and the administration.

''The committee will ensure proper coordination between the patients, the blood bank, administration and the laboratory. It will supervise the dengue operation in AIIMS,'' Dr Sharma said.

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