The daily COVID-19 tests in the national capital will be doubled from 20,000 to 40,000 and stringent enforcement of pandemic-related guidelines will be ensured in view of the “marginal rise” in the number of cases, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said following an emergency meeting here on Wednesday.

“The situation of coronavirus in Delhi is under control for the last one and a half months. There is a decline in the number of positive cases and deaths, and the recovery rate has considerably improved. But since August 17, the number of daily cases has been around 1,200-1,500,” he said in a digital briefing.

‘City fully prepared’

Reiterating that Delhi was fully prepared to handle the crisis, Mr. Kejriwal said there were 14,130 beds in city hospitals of which 10,448 remai-ned vacant. “A meeting was held today [Wednesday] and I have directed the officials to increase the number of tests. Around 20,000 tests are conducted in Delhi today, which will be increased to 40,000 tests in one week,” he said.

According to Mr. Kejriwal, the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in Delhi was more than 90%. The death rate in August so far has been 1.4%, he said, which is among the best in the country.

“Our strategy to test and isolate will remain the same. Coronavirus patients will be aggressively marked and isolated,” said Mr. Kejriwal.

The AAP government has, he said, also decided to supply oximeters to patients who have recovered. If their oxygen levels continue to remain low, oxygen concentrators will also be installed at their homes for free, he said.

“We have also instructed that enforcement must be made stricter. I request everybody to wear masks and practise social distancing. I am happy that the confidence of the people of Delhi has increased in the last few days but there should be no complacency because of this confidence,” he said.