Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that recovered Covid-19 patients can donate after 14 days. (File photo)

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday inaugurated a plasma bank in the city and urged recovered Covid 19 patients to donate their plasma. “The plasma bank starts today and it will be successful when people come forward to donate their plasma for Covid-19 patients,” he said.

Kejriwal said that recovered Covid-19 patients can donate their plasma after 14 days, PTI reported.

On June 30, the Delhi government had announced the setting up of a plasma bank within the next two days for coronavirus patients at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS). Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the creation of the repository is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the entire country and appealed to recovered patients to donate their plasma.

Kejriwal said the state government will issue dedicated helpline numbers for those willing to donate plasma.

Delhi reported 2,442 new cases of coronavirus and 61 deaths Thursday, taking the total case tally to 89,802, including 2,803 deaths.

Kejriwal had on Wednesday said that the situation in the capital is improving and is “not as terrible” as predicted a month ago. In a video press conference, Kejriwal said that the number of recoveries in the city is increasing and that the coronavirus situation is now under control.

Talking about the decline of the positivity rate in the capital, Kejriwal said, “We’ve increased the number of tests. There is a good indication, earlier around 31 out of 100 people whose samples were collected tested positive for coronavirus. Today, 13 out of 100 people test positive.”