Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the Delhi government is not planning to impose any lockdown in the Capital. He said the “fourth wave” of COVID-19 was “less serious” than others before it.
If needed, Mr. Kejriwal said, the government would consider a lockdown only “after due consultation with the public” even as he sought to urge the Central government to open up the vaccination process for everyone instead of keeping it restricted to specific age groups due to the rising number of cases.
“India is witnessing a rise in cases. Delhi, too, is witnessing a surge. As I have always said Delhi has encountered the worst COVID situation, this is the fourth wave for the city. For the country, this might be the second wave but Delhi is encountering the fourth peak,” he told at a digital briefing after an emergency meeting at his residence to assess the situation.
‘Govt. keeping an eye’
“At this peak, we have seen that the cases have been rapidly increasing regularly and this is a matter of grave concern but one must not worry. The government is keeping an eye on the situation and all mandatory steps that need to be taken, are being looked into,” he added.
On March 16, he said, the city witnessed 425 cases, which has now surged beyond 3,500. According to data, he said, the fourth wave is “less serious than the previous ones” as mortality rates are relatively low and so was the number of people being admitted to hospitals and ICUs.
In October, he said, 3,000 to 4,000 new cases came up daily with around 1,700 patients in ICU. On Friday, the number was around 800 - registering a drop of 50%. The mortality rate then was 40 deaths per day but on Friday it was around 10-12. “We have looked into the provision for additional requirements for hospitals in case people fall sick and need to get admitted to the hospital. The provision of ambulance, hospital, ventilator, oxygen, and ICU were all discussed. For this, a plan has been laid down as to in what stages the number of ICU beds in the private and government hospitals would be increased,” he added. The government has three broad concerns, including preventing the spread of infection, hospital management and the ongoing vaccination drive.
Mr. Kejriwal said he was happy that the Centre allowed the vaccination to people above the age of 45. “If the Centre permits us to do mass vaccination, then hundreds and thousands of facilities can be created in community centres, schools and a mass vaccination drive could be initiated. If this is done, it would be a great aid to control the spread of the virus,” he said.
