NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday warned the people of Delhi to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour while stepping out otherwise another wave of the pandemic could occur in the national capital.
“I appeal to the public that while activities are being opened, the people of Delhi should follow social distancing and take the right precautions, else Covid-19 might spread again. Complaints of markets being overcrowded are there,” said the chief minister at the inauguration of the SARS CoV2 Genome Sequencing facility at LNJP hospital on Wednesday.
The facility would be able to sequence 5 to 7 samples in a day with a turnaround time of about 4 to 5 days. It will detect the lethality of the coronavirus variants and help the government prepare accordingly.
According to the government, the facility will be mainly for surveillance and public health purposes as identification of variance of concern in interest would be done.
“This genome sequencer facility will be an asset not only for Delhi but for entire northern India. People will highly benefit from this machine,” said Kejriwal. Health minister Satyendar Jain was also present on the occasion. The lab is the third such facility in north India, Kejriwal stated. He added that through this machine, identifying and analysis of all the variants of Covid-19 for any future waves or spreads in Delhi will be done.
This is part of the AAP government’s preparation before the probable third wave hits the national capital. The previous wave of the pandemic left the city broken with tremendous loss of lives mainly due to insufficient health infrastructure which could not cope with the patient load. Kejriwal government is preparing for any probable third wave and in order to avoid the mistakes made in the past, two profile committees have been set up to provide the government with a strategy to deal with the high number of cases.