Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that he is in constant communication with the central government over the Covid situation-19 and that the state government is taking measures to increase the number of beds to deal with the rising infections.
“The positivity rate has increased from 24% to 30% in last 24 hours. There are less than 100 ICU (Intensive Care Unit) beds left and there’s oxygen shortage. I spoke to Dr Harsh Vardhan yesterday (Saturday) and (home minister) Amit Shah this morning regarding lack of beds, and informed them that we’re in dire need,” Kejriwal said in a video address on Sunday.
Kejriwal also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the situation in Delhi is “very serious”. He requested the PM for urgent supply of oxygen and reservation of 7,000 beds out of the central government’s 10,000 beds for Covid patients. He also thanked the Centre for re-opening a medical facility near the Delhi airport.
Sources indicated that Delhi was looking at more restrictions in view of the spiralling cases. The city has already imposed strict weekend restrictions.
In his press conference, Kejriwal said due to the fast pace of increase in the infections, hospital beds and oxygen for patients are depleting fast in the city. The Centre should reserve at least 7,000 of 10,000 beds in hospitals run by it in Delhi as Covid beds and ensure immediate supply of oxygen, he said.
The Delhi government has created 2,100 oxygen beds by attaching banquet halls and hotels to the hospitals. The beds will be shown in the Delhi government app in a day or two, he said.
The chief minister, in a statement, added that the state government is preparing beds on a large scale in Yamuna Sports Complex and Commonwealth Game Village. “I request all three MCDs (municipal corporations) to give maximum medical infrastructure and manpower so that we can use them properly,” the statement read.
Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia also raised the issue of oxygen shortage and requested the Centre to immediately increase its supply to the national capital. “The quota of oxygen allocated to Delhi is turning out to be very less due to the increased consumption which is much more than the average,” Sisodia, who is also the nodal minister for Covid-19 management in Delhi, tweeted.
He said several hospitals have informed that their stock of medical oxygen will be over soon. “The Delhi government has demanded that the Centre increase the city’s quota of oxygen immediately,” Sisodia said in another tweet in Hindi.
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