Delhi hospitals have enough oxygen for 6-7 days: Satyendar Jain

“There is no shortage of oxygen in Delhi hospitals. There is a slight issue, but there is enough oxygen for six to seven days in Delhi.”

A medical staff conducting rapid antigen tests for Covid-19 on the passengers at New Delhi Railway Station on Wednesday.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Wednesday there is no shortage of medical oxygen in Delhi hospital and that enough stock is available for the next six to seven days.

The minister’s remarks come amid reports of shortage of medical oxygen in some parts of the country.

Mr. Jain also said the COVID-19 positivity rate in the national capital has plateaued out a bit and a downward trend is expected in a week or two.

“There is no shortage of oxygen in Delhi hospitals. I took a stock of the situation. There is a slight issue, but there is enough oxygen for six to seven days in Delhi government-run hospitals,” he said.

“We believe that there should be enough oxygen for seven days. A few hospitals have less than that,” the minister added.

Delhi gets oxygen from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Some suppliers in Rajasthan have been told to first supply oxygen there. These issues are being talked out, Mr. Jain told reporters here.

He said Delhi reported 6.47% COVID-19 positivity rate on Tuesday. The average positivity rate for the last seven days stood at 7%.

It was 8.5-9% in the near past. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the cumulative positivity rate has come down from 12% to 9%.

“The positivity rate has plateaued out a bit and there will be a downward trend in a week or two,” he said.

Mr. Jain also said the government is going to appeal against the Delhi High Court stay on the city government’s order directing private hospitals to reserve 80% of the ICU beds for COVID-19 patients.

“We are very hopeful... We had issued the directions after careful considerations. It is a very dynamic situation. Such a pandemic occurs once in a hundred years. The Delhi government is taking steps according to the situation,” he said.

Mr. Jain said the number of dengue cases in the city is lower so far this season as compared to last year.

“We have been running a dedicated awareness campaign ‘10 Hafte 10 Baje 10 Minute’ which proved very successful last year too,” he said, adding there is no need for setting up dengue wards in hospitals this year.