Seeking to accelerate the pace of vaccination against COVID-19 in the Capital, the city government on Monday ordered that one-third of inoculation sites at all Delhi government hospitals will run round-the-clock.
Vaccination sites at present operate from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. “It is hereby ordered that with effect from April 6, 2021, one-third of the vaccination sites in all Delhi government hospitals will also function from 9 p.m. to 9. a.m.,” read an order.
“Thirty-four government hospitals have six vaccination sites each. From Tuesday, all of them will be working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and two from each hospital will then work from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.,” a Delhi government spokesperson said.
The order came on a day when the city reported 3,548 new cases in 24 hours, taking the tally to 6,79,962.
Fifteen deaths were also reported in 24 hours, taking the toll to 11,096. Of the total cases, 6,54,277 people have recovered and there are now 14,589 active cases.
The number of tests done in the last 24 hours was less than Sunday by 26.3%.
A total of 64,003 tests were done in past 24 hours compared to 86,899 the day before. The number of new cases on Sunday was 4,033.
Night curfew
Meanwhile, officials said the government has chalked out a plan for a night curfew.
“A plan for imposing a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. has been made. The file has gone to the Minister level for approval. But it is yet to be approved,” a Delhi government official said.
A government spokesperson, however, neither confirmed nor denied the development.
The government on Monday also increased the number of beds for COVID-19 treatment in 11 of its hospitals to 2,910 from 1,370. The number of ICU beds at these hospitals has also been increased to 630 from 276.
Private hospitals were also ordered to increase capacity. “Fifty-four large private hospitals having bed strength of 100 beds or more are directed to reserve at least 30% of their ICU bed and normal bed capacity or double the occupancy as on April 5, 2021,” read an order.
