Despite witnessing an “unprecedented” COVID-19 surge in the capital, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Monday ruled out the possibility of a lockdown.
“I don't think it [lockdown] will be an effective step now; wearing of masks by everyone will be more beneficial,” Jain told the media, even as the positivity rate in the capital stood at 15.3 per cent.
The Centre has asked states to keep the positivity rate (a key metric that indicates the level of transmission and whether adequate testing is being done) to under 5 per cent. Delhi's positivity rate that has been consistently rising since October (when it was under 5 per cent) is becoming a matter of concern, experts say. The peak of the third wave in the city had passed, Jain said.
According to the health ministry, on November 15, over 70 per cent cases (76.63 per cent) had been reported in ten states—the highest were reported in Kerala (4,581 cases). Delhi reported 3,235 cases, followed by West Bengal (3,053 cases). Last week, Delhi reported an average of 7,000 cases, and the numbers dipped over the weekend owing to the festival of Diwali on November 14. About a fifth (21.84 pe rcent) of new fatalities were reported from Delhi on November 15—95 people succumbed to COVID in the capital—followed by 60 deaths reported in Maharashtra, and 51 in West Bengal. Though Kerala had the highest number of active cases, the state reported 21 deaths.
“Delhi has witnessed a huge surge in daily active cases which is likely to worsen over next few weeks,” Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said. At a high level review meeting held on Sunday over the “worrying” Delhi situation, it was decided to take immediate remedial steps— doubling the Rt-PCR capacity in the capital, airlifting additional doctors and paramedical staff from Central Armed Police Forces, procuring adequate number of BIPAP machines and high flow nasal canulas, among others. It was also decided that 250-300 ICU beds would be added to the existing medical facility of DRDO at Dhaula Kuan.
The decision comes in the wake of several private hospitals reporting a shortage of ICU beds. The Delhi government that is expecting around 12,000 cases per day in the coming weeks had asked 33 private hospitals to reserve 80 per cent of ICU beds for COVID patients, an order that is being fiercely resisted by these hospitals that went to court. Last week, the Delhi High Court lifted the stay order on the reservation of beds for COVID patients.
“If we reserve these beds, what happens to the non-CCOVID patients? Besides, ensuring that COVID and non-COVID patients are segregated in the same physical space is just not possible. For a COVID patient, we need to ensure that negative pressure is maintained in the room. How do we do that in the existing infrastructure?,” said a private hospital official who did not wish to be identified.
Besides, the Delhi government was only focusing on creating additional beds for COVID patients, while it was equally important to have trained staff to manage patients who need critical care, the official said.
Based on the decisions taken at the high-level meeting, the home ministry on Monday constituted multi-disciplinary teams to visit all private hospitals in the capital to check the status of compliance of various directions for testing and treating issued by the health ministry.
"The government of NCT Delhi will provide necessary logistic support including transportation, etc and extend all co-operation for their visit to private hospitals. Health department, government of NCT Delhi will nominate a focal point to ensure the smooth conduct of visit and issue necessary directions to private hospitals to facilitate the visit of teams and completion of all tasks as per ToR assigned to them," the order by disaster management division, ministry of home affairs, reads.
the teams will start their visit immediately and within two days of issuing of the order, submit their reports along with specific details as per the ToR to the ministry of health and family welfare and ministry of home affairs, according to the order.