Cases may rise but under control: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on coronavirus outbreak

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that the COVID-19 outbreak in the national capital is under control, however, he added that positive cases are expected to escalate as occupants evacuated from Markaz (Tablighi Jamaat headquarters) in Nizamuddin will undergo the coronavirus test in the coming days.

“More than 2,300 people were shifted from Markaz and 500 of them were admitted to hospitals. Remaining 1,800 are in quarantine, who are being tested for coronavirus. So, the number of positive cases may increase exponentially,” he said. Briefing about the status of total cases in the city, the CM further said that after 59 more persons tested positive for COVID-19 in last 24 hours (on Saturday), the city has total 445 patients suffering from the virus.

So far, Delhi has recorded six deaths due to the coronavirus. Three were staying at Markaz. “Five of them, who died due to corona, had other major ailments such as diabetes, heart problems, respiratory illnesses and liver problems. They were above 60 years of age and one was 36 years old. Therefore my advice is that elderly and people having serious (heart, liver-related and respiratory) ailments should remain more careful,” he said. Referring to 40 local transmissions cases so far, Kejriwal said that the majority of total coronavirus patients either had come from foreign countries or were evacuated from Markaz.

Only 11 patients are in the intensive care unit (ICU) and five others are on ventilator support. The CM also informed that the government will provide free ration to more people and said that the registration process for the same has already begun. “Besides 71 lakh people getting free 7.5-kilogram ration under the public distribution scheme (PDS), the government has decided to extend benefits to more people. We already started the registration process on Friday,” he said. “So far, 40-50,000 people have registered themselves. in the city. They will get ration supply from Wednesday or Thursday,” the Chief Minister added.