'No Lockdown If...' Kejriwal Puts Onus on Delhi, Pins Hope on Low Deaths, Hospitalisations
A boy holds his father's hand while they stand next to a police barricade after authorities in the capital ordered a weekend curfew in Delhi. (Reuters)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the public to wear masks and not panic.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that there is no plan to impose lockdown as of now and there will be no lockdown if people wear masks.
He said that on Sunday the city is likely to report 22,000 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours. He appealed to the public to wear masks and not panic. “Rising COVID-19 cases is a matter of concern but there is no need to panic," he said.
“Very few people are getting hospitalised. Wearing mask is very important. There will be no lockdown if you continue to wear mask. There is no plan to impose lockdown as of now," Kejriwal said in a virtual press conference.
The CM said that he along with Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and the Centre are keeping a close eye on the Covid situation. Our attempt is to impose minimum restrictions so livelihoods are not affected, Kejriwal said.
Earlier, Kejriwal had said that he has recovered from Covid and is back to serve the public. The CM had tested positive on January 4 and had isolated himself at home. He had mild symptoms.
I am back in your service after recovering from Corona, Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi on Sunday morning. Kejriwal had tested positive a day after holding a rally in Dehradun on January 3.
Last year in April, Kejriwal’s wife Sunita had tested positive for COVID-19. Though Kejriwal had then developed symptoms, he had tested negative.
Seven more fatalities were recorded in Delhi on Saturday due to COVID-19 as the city clocked 20,181 infections in a single day, while the positivity rate rose to 19.60 per cent, with Health Minister Satyendar Jain saying the fatalities have been reported among those with comorbidities and the elderly.
The national capital has been seeing an uptick of daily cases in the last few days, mainly triggered by the Omicron variant of the infection. According to data shared by the health department, 1,586 people are admitted in hospitals, accounting for 11.24 per cent of 14,106 dedicated Covid beds.
Earlier in the day, Jain, however had, asserted that the hospitalisation rate is lower than what it was during the second wave of the pandemic when the case numbers were similar.
While asserting that the government is well prepared to handle a high number of cases, he announced that it has been decided to increase 5,650 normal beds, 2,075 ICUs in 14 hospitals along with 2,800 beds in eight Covid care centres.
The health bulletin shared by the government said out of over 1,500 admitted patients in hospitals, 106 are suspected coronavirus patients and 279 patients are in Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Nearly 375 patients are on oxygen support, including 27 on ventilator. As many as 1,308 patients are from Delhi, it said.
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The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,45,00,172, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.36 per cent. The cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive have crossed 151.94 crore.
India's COVID-19 infection tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020; 30 lakh on August 23; 40 lakh on September 5; and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28; 70 lakh on October 11; 80 lakh on October 29; 90 lakh on November 20; and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore infections on May 4 last year and three crore on June 23. The 146 new fatalities reported on Monday included 44 from Kerala, 18 from West Bengal and 17 from Delhi.
A total of 4,83,936 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,41,639 from Maharashtra, 49,591 from Kerala, 38,370 from Karnataka, 36,855 from Tamil Nadu, 25,160 from Delhi, 22,928 from Uttar Pradesh and 19,901 from West Bengal. The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
'No Lockdown If...' Kejriwal Puts Onus on Delhi, Pins Hope on Low Deaths, Hospitalisations
