NEW DELHI: The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said the coronavirus crisis is under control to a great extent but a pandemic is unpredictable. However, he added that the government is fully prepared to deal with the situation.
“The parameters in Delhi are good, the recovery rate is improving, and the positivity ratio and death rate are decreasing. There are fewer patients who require hospitalization. Everyone says that Corona is an unpredictable pandemic and no one knows what might happen tomorrow. Even though our situation is under control, if the situation goes out of control again, the Delhi government is fully prepared to deal with the situation,” said the chief minister.
He was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a 600- bed hospital in Ambedkar Nagar. At present, only 200 beds, equipped with oxygen supply facilities, have been made operational, which will be for patients suffering from COVID-19 infection.
On Sunday, 1,300 fresh cases were reported while 1,225 were discharged from hospital and isolation facilities. Total active cases in the national capital as on Sunday are 10,729 and 13 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours taking the total tally of COVID- 19 related deaths to 4,111. Briefing about the new facility, Kejriwal said that Ambedkar hospital would serve the people of the area and prove to be a huge support in the health infrastructure as there was no big hospital in this area and nearby localities.
“Today, 200 beds have been made operational. The hospital will be fully operational and ICUs will also start in the coming days. The 200 beds will be a huge aid in the treatment of Corona patients. Oxygen is available on all the 200 beds, as oxygen is the primary requirement in the treatment of COVID patients,” he said. Kejriwal said that the government had increased the capacity of beds in hospitals in Delhi and the new hospital is another step in the same direction to combat the dealy virus in the national capital.
‘RISE DUE TO PATIENTS COMING FROM OUTSIDE’
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Sunday attributed the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in the national capital to “patients from outside getting tested here.”
“There have been reports that coronavirus cases are increasing in the national capital. Many patients from outside Delhi are getting tested here, hence the rise in the number of cases... There is otherwise a decline in cases here,” Jain told reporters.
The health minister also said hospital admissions have also increased due to the patients coming from outside Delhi. In June, Delhi L-G Anil Baijal had overruled the AAP government’s decision to reserve hospital beds in city-run and private hospitals only for residents of the national capital.