With the national Capital recording whopping 10,774 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed the situation very worrisome and urged people not to step out of homes unless it is urgent.
The Chief Minister said the ongoing peak has surpassed the intensity of November 2020. He asked people to use face masks and sanitisers and maintain social distancing.
Kejriwal said, “Corona is rising rapidly in the entire country. In Delhi too, it has increased significantly in the past 10-15 days. It is the fourth wave in Delhi and it is very dangerous. It is spreading very fast so much so that it is beyond the understanding of many people.”
The Centre should remove the age bar for vaccination as 65 per cent of Covid patients are below 45-years. “If 65 per cent patients are less than 45 years of age, we can break its cycle with vaccination of these group. I request the Central Government to lift restriction on age and vaccinate people on mass level,” he said.
Kejriwal added the Government does not want to impose lockdown in Delhi but such a situation may arise if there is a rush to the hospitals and beds are unavailable for serious patients. “We need your cooperation. If your cooperation is received and situation of hospitals is under control, there will be no need to impose lockdown in Delhi. But, if beds in hospitals fall short, then lockdown may have to be imposed,” he said.
“Lockdown should be imposed by any Government only when its hospital system has collapsed. I am not in favour of lockdown. I believe lockdown is not a solution to deal with Covid-19. It should be imposed if hospital system collapses,” he said.
He, however, asked people to remain in home isolation if infected with the virus instead of rushing to hospitals, saying the most important thing is that hospital beds are kept vacant for serious patients.
“On one hand we are trying to stop the spread of corona, on the other hand, the number of patients is increasing at such a fast pace. When someone gets tested positive, they either go for home isolation or to the hospital. We are trying that in case people require access to the hospital, the Delhiites get the best facilities possible. There should not be any dearth with regard to beds, ventilators and oxygen. Today, we have already crossed 10,700 cases. This peak is even more dangerous than the one we witnessed in November,” he said.
“We have increased the number of tests in Delhi. Earlier we were conducting 80,000-85,000 tests daily and from the past few days, 1 lakh 10 thousand tests are being conducted daily. The staff and officers are working day and night and we would do whatever is required for your health. I request and appeal to all political parties to join hands and work together. This is not the time for politics or pointing fingers at each other. We should work together and serve the citizens of Delhi,” he added.
