Delhi gearing up to face COVID third wave, Kejriwal tells L-G
At the meeting, the chief minister told L-G that the Delhi government was making preparations on a war footing to combat a possible 'worst-case scenario' of 45,000 infections emerging daily.
Published: 19th June 2021 03:54 AM | Last Updated: 19th June 2021 08:34 AM | A+A A-
Delhi Lt. Governor Anil Baijal and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses a digital press conference. (Photo | PTI)
NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Friday to discuss the full action plan and roadmap for a possible third wave of Covid-19 in Delhi.
At the meeting, the chief minister told L-G that the Delhi government was making preparations on a war footing to combat a possible third wave keeping in mind the “worst-case scenario” of 45,000 cases emerging daily.
According to the government, the full blueprint of the Delhi government’s extensive preparations was presented to the L-G, highlighting the enhanced healthcare infrastructure that the government has been persistently building since the pandemic.
Kejriwal, who has earlier mentioned that the third wave might affect children more, discussed with the L-G about a State Level Task Force and a Pediatric Task Force for effective treatment of children.
“Experts estimate that if the third wave of the pandemic arrives, then during the normal situation in Delhi, about 37,000 corona cases can emerge per day, whereas if the outbreak is very high, then about 45,000 cases can emerge daily,” said Kejriwal in the meeting.
Delhi government has set up two high-level committees to look over the planning and the implementation of a roadmap so that the city’s healthcare infrastructure is better prepared than the last wave.
During the peak of the second wave of the pandemic, social media was flooded with SOS calls, crematoriums saw long waiting lines and patients died gasping for oxygen in hospitals of the national capital.
Hospital beds and medical oxygen, which were a major issue during the last wave due to the high number of daily fresh cases, are the key focus areas of the AAP government this time around.
The Delhi government is setting up new oxygen plants.
It is also procuring medical oxygen transportation tanks and a committee has been constituted to assess the oxygen supply infrastructure in Delhi government hospitals having 100 or more beds and also examine the adequacy of provisions made in the expansion plan and suggest the way forward.
