Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday ruled out the possibility of another lockdown in the Capital to deal with rising COVID-19 cases but said that there was a need to spearhead an aggressive vaccination campaign while simultaneously taking measures to contain the spread of the virus.
Reviewing preparations at Lok Nayak Hospital, Mr. Kejriwal said, “This is the fourth wave in Delhi. The last wave was in November last year after which cases had become so few in Delhi that the health system and other agencies began to get lax. It is imperative that they gain their momentum again and begin to function in the same efficient manner that they did, which helped contain the virus.”
The CM said that he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking for permission to increase the number of vaccination centres, remove the age limits on beneficiaries, and provide sufficient number of doses so that all Delhiites can be vaccinated in the next two-three months.
“I cannot talk about the rest of the country, but as per Delhi government’s preparation, if these three pre-conditions are met, we can assure you that all Delhiites will be vaccinated within two-three months. Once everyone is vaccinated, it will greatly aid us in containing and ending the severity of the virus,” he said.
Vaccine supply
Mr. Kejriwal added that Delhi at present has enough vaccination to carry out the drive for the next 7-10 days and that hospitals in the Capital were in a comfortable position with reference to beds and ventilators.
Mr. Kejriwal said that out of the 2,000 beds available at Lok Nayak Hospital, 1,500 have been declared as COVID-19 beds, and if the situation demands, all 2,000 beds will be made available for infected patients.
