Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called an emergency all-party meeting on Thursday to discuss the exacerbating coronavirus situation in the national capital. Delhi recorded 7,486 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the capital’s infection tally to over 5-lakh cases. As many as 131 new fatalities, which so far is the highest single-day death count, pushed the death toll to 7,943 on Wednesday.
The meeting came a day after the Chief Minister visited the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital and said that doctors there had agreed to increase intensive care unit beds to 232 in the next two days. “Visited GTB hospital. Doctors here agreed to increase additional 232 ICU beds in next 2 days. In all, we will increase 663 ICU beds in all Delhi government hospitals in next few days. Centre increasing another 750 ICU beds. Despite such a huge spike, our doctors have managed the situation very well,” tweeted CM Kejriwal.
When asked about the rise in Covid-19 cases in Delhi, Kejriwal said, “Efforts have been made to reduce the number of cases and also to provide timely treatment to patients.” On November 15, Kejriwal had attended a meeting convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to take stock of the rising Covid-19 cases in the national capital.
“I told all parties in the meet that it›s a difficult time for the people of Delhi as Covid-19 cases are rising. It›s not the time for politics; there is an entire lifetime for it. We should set aside politics and allegations and counter-allegations for a few days. This is the time to serve the people,” the Delhi CM said. “They assured full cooperation in tackling the crisis. I also urge all parties to distribute masks,” Kejriwal added.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, while interacting with reporters at the Delhi Secretariat, said, “The Delhi government has no plan to impose a lockdown. It might press for certain restrictions in market areas for some days to prevent the spread of Covid-19, if such a need arises. Lockdown is not a solution to the pandemic. It can be tackled through proper medical arrangements which the government has been doing effectively.”
Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta initially agreed to attend the meeting, but later added that the move has come late. “I will suggest the AAP government to strictly enforce Covid-19 safety measures like using face masks and social distancing in markets instead of talking about a lockdown. I will also ask the chief minister to improve facilities like ICU beds in hospitals in Delhi so that more patients can be treated there,” Gupta said.
DPCC chief Anil Chaudhary also attended the all-party meeting on Thursday. “We have been raising the issue of inadequate testing. Besides this, we will also raise the issue of a ban on Chhath Puja in public places,” Chaudhary said.
The Chief Secretary of Delhi, Vijay Dev, said, “In closed spaces, a maximum of 50 percent of the hall capacity will be allowed, with a ceiling of 50 persons. Wearing of face masks, maintaining social distancing, provision for thermal scanning and use of hand wash or sanitizer will continue to be mandatory.”
