Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that around 25,500 new coronavirus cases have been reported in the last 24 hours. The test positivity, which is the percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 out of the total tests conducted, jumped to nearly 30% from 24.56% the previous day, he added.
In a press conference, the chief minister said that there were less than 100 Intensive Care Unit beds left for patients and warned that the situation was worsening every moment. “We have asked the Central government for help and we are receiving it as well,” he added. “I have spoken to Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan about the need for more beds in Central government hospitals and oxygen for Covid-19 patients.”
Kejriwal said the Centre should reserve at least 7,000 of 10,000 beds in hospitals run by it in Delhi for coronavirus patients and ensure immediate supply of oxygen. At present, 1,800 beds are reserved by the central government.
“The Delhi government on its part is trying to add 6,000 more beds with oxygen over the next two to three days,” the Aam Aadmi Party chief said. “There is also a limit on many ICU beds we can add. But we have seen that most patients need high flow oxygen, and we are making arrangements for this. These beds will be set up at schools, Yamuna Sports Complex, Commonwealth Games Village and at the Radha Soami Satsang Beas facility which we are reopening.”
Kejriwal cautioned that Delhi may face a major crisis if its oxygen stocks are not refilled. The Delhi chief minister thanked residents for following the weekend lockdown guidelines.
Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also flagged oxygen supply shortages. “Due to higher than usual consumption, the supply of oxygen allocated to Delhi is falling short,” he tweeted. “Information is being received from some hospitals that they have oxygen stocks to last a very limited amount of time. The Delhi government has asked the Centre to immediately increase the oxygen quota for the Capital.”
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