Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said Delhi is encountering the fourth wave of Covid-19 but there is no need for imposing another lockdown in the city.
Delhi recorded 3,594 fresh Covid cases on Friday, the highest daily count this year, while 14 more people died due to the infection, taking the death toll to 11,050, according to the city health department.
In an emergency meeting called at his residence, he said, “If there is a need for a lockdown in the future, a decision will be taken after consultation. The fourth wave is less serious than the previous ones as there are fewer numbers of deaths and hospitalisations this time.”
Kejriwal suggested the Centre should lift the 45+ age bar for vaccination to pave the way for mass inoculation.
“If the Centre allowed vaccination at non-healthcare facilities like schools, immunisation be undertaken on a war footing to check the spread of the virus,” he said.
The CM, however, added, “It’s a matter of concern since the Covid-19 cases are rising exponentially. But there is no need to panic. The Government is monitoring the situation and taking all necessary steps.”
Kejriwal also appealed to the people to wear face masks, maintain social distancing and regularly wash hands to prevent the spread of the virus.
According to the data, cases have been rising rapidly but this time, the fourth wave of coronavirus is less serious than the previous ones in the sense that mortality rates are comparatively low and secondly, the number of people being admitted into hospitals and ICU is relatively low as well, he said.
“We saw that in October, 3,000-4,000 new cases came up daily. At the time, there were around 1,700 patients in the ICU and today it is around 800, i.e. 50 per cent drop. The mortality rate was 40 deaths per day, but today it is around 10-12. This new wave is comparatively less serious in the sense that a lesser number of people are required to access the hospitals and most of them are being treated efficiently under home isolation,” he added.
“In today’s meeting, we looked into the provision for additional requirements for hospitals in case people fall sick and need to get admitted into the hospital. The provision of ambulance, hospital, ventilator, oxygen, and ICU were all discussed today and 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 said.
Kejriwal said, “We have three broad concerns. Firstly, how to prevent its spread? The second important concern is that of hospital management, i.e. if we fall sick there must be ample facility in the hospital and a good treatment process. The third is that of vaccination on which the government is paying full attention since the more number of people get vaccinated, the more control we would have over the situation.”
