Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that the situation in the national capital is fully under control and that there is no need to worry. The chief minister has acknowledged that the state government did expect a rise in number of cases as the lockdown was relaxed, but reiterated that Delhi is fully prepared to face any eventuality.
"The lockdown was lifted on May 17, after one week of assessment and deliberations, i can tell you that the situation is under control. There is no need to worry. We did expect a rise in the number of cases after the lockdown rules were relaxed, which did happen indeedn," Kejriwal said.
He further predicted two hypothetical situation which could be a cause of worry in the future.
"We should only be worried if two things happend. One, if the death toll in Delhi rises exponentially and two, if the cases being reported get so serious that the system of our hospital collapses," he said. "If the people keep recovering from coronavirus then there is no cause of concern. But if we run short of beds and ventilators, that could be worrysome."
Giving a count of the total number of beds and ventilators available in all of Delhi's hospitals (Private and government hospitals combined), Kejriwal said, "We have roughly 4,000 beds out of which only 1,500 beds are occupied while 2,500 beds are vacant. As far as ventilators are concerned, we have about 250, out of which only 11 are in use."
"We have passed an order asking all private hospitals to keep 20 per cent of their beds vacant for coronavirus patients. This will reserve as many as 2,000 beds across Delhi for COVID-19 patients," the chief minister added.
He added that most cases that are being reported in Delhi are asymptomatic or people having very mild symptoms and that the recovery rate in Delhi is roughly 50 per cent.
Kejriwal also pointed out an unnamed private hospital which turned away a patient who had tested positive for coronavirus. "We have issued a show cause notice to that hospital. It is the responsibility of that hospital to get the patient a bed, wether in private or in government hospital," Kejriwal signed off with.
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