The state government on Friday floated ‘urgent tenders’ for the procurement of ventilators to create Intensive Care Units (ICUs) exclusively for H1N1 patients. There is an urgency to increase bed strength and critical care capacity for H1N1.

“We want to procure ventilators at the earliest, as the functional critical care facilities in government hospitals cannot accommodate H1N1 patients in addition to the existing disease burden in the city,” said J P Singh, Principal Secretary, Health, Delhi government.

“We are making these arrangements to tackle any possible surge in swine flu cases. We do not want to take chances,” said Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia. Hospitals will be given ventilators according to their bed strengths, she added.

The state government has made in mandatory for the four empanelled private laboratories in the Capital to notify the nodal officers of the Health department of positive H1N1 cases each day. The four laboratories are Dr Dang’s, Dr Lal Pathlabs, Auraprobe and Super Religare Laboratories.

Twenty four patients tested positive for H1N1 on Friday, taking the total number of positive cases in the city to 571 since May.