NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called an all-party meeting on Thursday to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the national capital, amid rising concern over the recent spike in cases. Opposition parties said that they would raise issues like “inadequate” testing and press for proper enforcement of precautionary measures.
“The chief minister will hold an all-party meeting to discuss the Covid-19 situation in Delhi. The meeting will be held at 11 AM on Thursday,” a government official said. Officials said leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), BJP, Congress and other parties have been invited for the meeting.
The development comes days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah presided a high-level meeting attended by Kejriwal and others on the Covid-19 situation and 12 steps were announced to shore up the fight against the pandemic in the national capital.
An AAP leader said discussions would be held on the rising cases of Covid-19 cases, and the chief minister would seek cooperation from all party leaders, MPs and MLAs in spreading awareness and advocating Covid-appropriate behaviour in their constituencies.
Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said he will attend the meeting, but added the move has come late. “I will suggest the AAP government strictly enforce Covid-19 safety measures like using face masks and social distancing in the markets instead of talking about the lockdown.
“I will also ask the chief minister to improve facilities like ICU beds at its hospitals in Delhi so that more patients can be treated there,” Gupta said. DPCC chief Anil Chaudhary will also attend the all-party meeting on Thursday.
Meanwhile, given the rising number of cases, Kejriwal held a meeting with doctors in Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital to take stock of the government’s preparedness regarding the availability of ICU beds.“Around 663 Covid-beds will be added in other Delhi government hospitals over the next few days. Even with a huge spike in cases, the doctors are doing a commendable job.
The way our doctors have responded to this calamity is commendable,” said the chief minister after the meeting. Kejriwal also assured that markets would not be shut just yet and that a decision would be taken in the coming days after assessing the situation.
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