NEW DELHI: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Thursday said that India is much better off than several western countries in terms of containing the virus. In a statement issued by the Delhi government, he was quoted as saying that “compared to the western countries, the situation in India is much better”.
"In Delhi, right now we have 3,925 active cases (till Wednesday) and only 84 patients are in ICU. We should not look into the cases in terms of absolute numbers but we should calculate the rate of growth with respect to the base value. The rate of growth of COVID-19 cases in Delhi was around 8 per cent yesterday, earlier the rate was 20 per cent, then it became 15 per cent and now it has become 12 per cent," he said.
The health minister also said that the doubling rate of coronavirus cases in Delhi is currently at 11 days at present. There are 5,532 positive COVID-19 cases in Delhi and 12 patients are currently on ventilators. On Wednesday, 428 fresh cases were reported in Delhi. However, the Delhi health minister said the situation is under control here.
"We have to be very careful as we may have to live with coronavirus for a certain period as it may stay for a longer period of time. We have to follow all rules, use masks and maintain social distancing all the time," he said.
The Delhi government is monitoring the situation round-the-clock to ensure that the virus does not spread further. Also, for the people belonging to Tablighi Jamaat, whoever has recovered and spent the designated time in quarantine, can go to their respective states as per the guidelines. If any police investigation is going on against anyone then the police will take care of such issues, Jain said.
He said liquor shops have been opened as per rules and the situation will be under control in two-three days. "Also, we are in constant touch with all the states regarding sending the migrant labourers and stranded people to their respective states, and certain states have also taken a number of steps to bring back their labourers.We have shared the list of people with respective states and today a train with stranded people will leave for Madhya Pradesh," he said.
The health minister said that Delhi government is working proactively to make sure all the beneficiaries across the city get their ration regularly.
Matter of perspective
Jain urged people to not look just into the number of cases in terms of absolute numbers but calculate the rate of growth with respect to the base value. The rate of growth in the national capital, according to the health minister, was around 8 per cent on Wednesday