Fifty-nine new COVID-19 cases were reported in Delhi on Saturday, taking the total number to 445. No death was reported.
Of the 59 fresh cases, 42 are people from a centre run by the Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin. A total of 301 people from the centre have so far tested positive for COVID-19 in Delhi alone.
So far, six people have died due to the virus in the city, while 15 have been discharged. A total of 3,531 people are lodged in quarantine facilities and around 20,000 people are in home quarantine, said the government.
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Local transmission
During a digital press conference, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that local transmission cases were stable at 40 and assured citizens that the Delhi government had been successful in containing community spread of the virus in the city. “Around 11 patients are in ICU and five are on ventilators. We can say that this is local transmission and not community transmission. In community transmission, people do not get to know from whom they are getting infected but right now no such situation has occurred in Delhi,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
“We have traced 2,300 people from the Niazamuddin centre out of which 500 are admitted to hospitals and around 1,800 are in quarantine. We are testing the 500 people as they have symptoms and may be suffering from COVID-19, which means the number of cases in Delhi will increase. But I want to reiterate that this is not community transmission so there is nothing to worry about yet,” he said.
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Of the six people who have died, three were from the Tablighi Jamaat centre.
Five of the deceased also had pre-existing conditions, Mr. Kejriwal said, adding: “I want to request all senior citizens to be cautious and not go outside.”
‘I am monitoring the situation in Delhi and I every a record of every person affected by COVID-19. We will ensure the best health facility and treatment to these patients,” said Mr. Kejriwal.
The CM added that the Delhi government had distributed lunch to around 6,63,928 people and dinner to around 6,78,544 people on Friday. We are making arrangements to feed over 10,00,00 people, he said.
Mr. Kejriwal said that it had already been decided that 7.5 kg of ration will be given to 71 lakh people who have ration cards.
“There are around 6,50,000 people who had earlier applied for ration cards but did not get it. These people will also now get ration,” he said, adding: “We have created a website for people who do not have a ration card. A form has to be filled out to get registered and receive the benefit of free ration… around 50,000 have already registered... All these people will get 5 kg of free ration.”
Mr. Kejriwal added that health workers in the city were in urgent need of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits and that he had written to the Centre requesting more gear.
(With inputs from
Nikhil M Babu)