Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday said the State government was ready to help Delhi manage its spiralling COVID-19 cases.
The national capital, which has seen a sharp spike in daily COVID-19 cases in the festival season, witnessed 5,879 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 5,23,117, according to a health bulletin released by the Delhi government. Also, 111 more deaths were reported in the city in the past 24 hours, pushing the toll to 8,270.
“Delhi is fighting a tough battle and we are there to help if needed. I have said this earlier too,” Capt. Amarinder said. “While nobody knows when the second wave of the epidemic will strike Punjab, the experience of the National Capital Region and other States shows that it is an almost certain eventuality.” He assured the people that his government was taking all possible measures to meet the situation.
The Punjab CM was speaking after digitally launching 107 health and wellness centres to boost healthcare infrastructure in the State and provide health services to patients at their doorsteps, in both rural and urban areas.
While it was the duty of the State government to support healthcare and other frontline workers, many of whom had been infected and some had even lost their lives, it was also the responsibility of the people to actively partner the State in the fight against the pandemic by strictly following the safety norms, the Chief Minister said.
Beds running out
In Delhi, 91.1% ICU beds with ventilators reserved for COVID-19 treatment were occupied on Saturday night and 84.5% of ICU beds without ventilators were taken, according to the city government data. Many hospitals, including government-run Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital, did not have a single ICU bed with ventilator. Also, of the total 17,311 beds available for COVID-19 treatment, 55.1% were occupied.
Of the total cases, 4,75,106 people have recovered and there are 39,741 active cases.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday distributed masks for free in Patparganj, his Assembly constituency, and appealed to people to follow all social distancing norms or be ready to face action.
The positivity rate (percentage of people testing positive for every 100 tests done) in Delhi was 12.9%. The overall positivity rate till now is 9.08%.
The number of containment zones in the city on Saturday was 4,633.
A door-to-door survey to identify people with symptoms of the virus continued for the second day on Saturday and is expected to be completed by November 25.
