NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the new Omicron sub-variant BF.7 of the coronavirus that is causing a surge in cases in many countries has not been detected in Delhi so far and added his government is fully geared up to tackle any eventuality.
Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said the dominant sub-variant in Delhi is XBB has been detected in 92 per cent of the samples till now.
Kejriwal had convened a meeting at his residence on the Covid situation amid a surge in cases in many countries. During the meeting, the chief minister also issued instructions to send all positive cases for genome sequencing, and increase precaution dose coverage and manpower in hospitals.
He directed officials to take prior approval for procurement of essential items needed and inspect machines in all hospitals.
At the moment, 2,500 tests are being conducted on a daily basis and these can be increased to one lakh if there is a surge in Covid cases.
Assuring that the government is monitoring the situation, he said new variants have not been detected after sewage was tested at seven places in Delhi.
"Testing of sewage helps in getting to know whether any new virus has emerged. Sewage from seven places has been tested and there have been no indications of a new virus or variant till now," he told reporters.
The chief minister also asserted that they are self-sufficient in terms of oxygen availability and storage.
During the second Covid wave last year, Delhi grappled with oxygen shortage with hospitals sending out SOS messages over depleting supplies over social media.
"We have sufficient oxygen availability. Earlier, we did not have storage facilities, but now we have oxygen storage capacity also," he added.
One of the main problems during the pandemic last year was the availability of oxygen, he noted.
"On the one hand, oxygen was not available and if it was made available our capacity to store it was very low. This time we have ramped it up and we can store up to 928 metric tons of oxygen. Another key issue faced the last time around was the lack of oxygen cylinders. People were running around with patients looking for a cylinder last year. Apart from all the cylinders that are available in our government hospitals we also have a reserve of 6,000 cylinders," he added.
Last year, during the peak of the pandemic, the government had imported 6,000 cylinders and these are now stocked in reserve.
"This time around the Delhi government has 12 tankers and there are another three private tankers that we can use if the need arises, so we have 15 tankers to transport oxygen," he added.
Sharing that the capital has an adequate number of ambulances to transport people from their homes to hospitals, he said there are 380 ambulances at the moment and the government has directed the procurement of more ambulances.
"So, we are as prepared as we can be to face another wave of COVID-19, but we hope that things remain under control and we do not have to use these provisions," he added.
The government have 8,000 beds ready for Covid patients.
"At the time of COVID-19 peak, we had readied 25,000 beds but the bed capacity can be increased to 36,000. The government has also widened the scope of testing and those with SARS and breathing issues are being compulsorily tested using the RT-PCR method," he added.
He said only 24 per cent of the eligible population have taken the precautionary dose and urged people to get the jab.
"Even in the meeting today, I urged the officers to arrange a campaign under which we can go door-to-door and get the people to take their precautionary doses," he said.
The new variant BF.7 of the novel coronavirus, which is believed to be linked to the surge in Covid cases in some countries, has been detected in some parts of India.
Asked whether there are plans to bring back the mask mandate, he said they are awaiting the Centre's directions on the matter. He was also asked whether random sampling of passengers at airports will also be started.
"The Centre will take a call and we will provide manpower and facilities for it," he said.
Amid a spurt in Covid cases in some parts of the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday cautioned against complacency and directed officials to strengthen the ongoing surveillance measures, especially at international airports.
His assertion came during a high-level meeting, which he chaired to assess the COVID-19 situation in the country, the preparedness of health infrastructure and logistics, the status of the vaccination campaign and the emergence of new variants and their public health implications.
Modi urged everyone to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, including wearing masks in crowded public places, at all times, especially in view of the upcoming festive season, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
The number of daily cases in Delhi has been on the decline after touching the record high of 28,867 on January 13.
The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the wave of the pandemic triggered by the Omicron variant.
BF.7 has already been detected in several other countries, including the US, the UK and European nations such as Belgium, Germany, France and Denmark.
However, experts said BF.7 should not worry India too much as a lot of people have developed immunity against the virus, either through vaccination or previous infection, unlike China where people have low immunity against Covid due to tough restrictions.
"The government is proactive and its directions are scientific. One should be cautious considering the spurt in cases in several countries but any new variant of Omicron is unlikely to cause any big trouble in India," Dr Jugal Kishore, the head of the community medicine department at Safdarjung Hospital, said.