As Delhi witnesses a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said lockdown was not a solution and assured that his government had made adequate healthcare arrangements to deal with a rise in number of coronavirus patients.
“Over the last some days, COVID-19 cases are growing fast in Delhi. It is a matter of concern, but there is no need to panic. As your chief minister, I want to assure you that your government is four steps ahead of Corona. We have more than adequate arrangements in place for your treatment,” Kejriwal said.
He insisted that lockdown was not a solution, saying no one can guarantee that if everything is shut down for one or two months, COVID-19 will be finished. “Corona will still be there. Our focus is now on having arrangements in place for treatment of COVID patients,” he said.
As the total number of cases in Delhi crossed the 17,000 mark and the city witnessed more than 1,000 new cases for two days in a row, Kejriwal said that it will be a matter of concern if the number of deaths goes up or if there are more patients than the beds or oxygen facility or the ventilators that are available.
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He said that 6,600 beds have been arranged for COVID-19 patients, of which at present 2,100 are occupied. The rest of the patients, he said, are recovering in home isolation.
The chief minister assured that by June five, 9,500 more beds will be made ready as his government is taking over hotels and other facilities for the purpose.
As the number of COVID-19 cases in Delhi has seen a surge, Kejriwal said while around 8,500 cases were added since May 14, the number of patients in hospitals has gone up by 500. If there were 1,600 patients in hospitals on May 14, now there are around 2,100 patients admitted in the dedicated COVID-19 facilities.
He informed that his government will launch an app on Monday which will provide information about the availability of beds in the COVID-19 designated hospitals.
Kejriwal, meanwhile, accused political rivals of indulging in dirty politics by circulating fake videos, including about the quality of food served in Delhi government hospitals or bodies of COVID victims piling up in hospitals.
“We should rise above politics and work together when the country is going through such a difficult time. Such videos make our doctors and nurses, who have kept the death figures low in the capital, feel discouraged,” he said.
