Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday called for an emergency meeting in the wake of rising in the number of Covid-19 cases in the national capital. The meeting will be attended by Health Minister Satyendar Jain and other officials.
Delhi on Wednesday reported 1,819 coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of 2.71 percent pushed the cumulative total to 6,62,430. Apart from showing a slight dip on Tuesday, the national capital has been recording over 1,500 fresh cases consistently over the last few days. Following this, the state government has taken several steps in a bid to control the rapid surge of the virus.
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Premium The number of daily infections had started to come down in February. However, the daily cases began to rise again in March and have been steadily increasing since then.
Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday informed that Covid-19 testing will be increased to 80,000 per day in the national capital, news agency ANI reports. He further added that an ample number of beds is available in government hospitals. The overall occupancy in private and government hospitals in Delhi is 25%. Meanwhile, random testing of Covid-19 for passengers arriving in the national capital from states where cases are increasing also started yesterday at the Delhi airport.
Earlier in the week, the Delhi government has already capped the gatherings at open wedding venues at 200 and at 100 in case of closed spaces; only 50 persons will be allowed at funerals till April 30.
The Health minister had last week said that a second COVID lockdown in the national capital is "not a solution". "As of now, there is no possibility of another lockdown. We had tried it earlier with not much success. Experts had said that due to its 14-day cycle (of the infection), a 21-day lockdown would stop the spread of the virus but that did not happen. So for me, lockdown is no solution," Jain had said on Saturday.
"Compared to other states, the situation in Delhi is under control. The testing rate is 5% more than the national average. People should not be careless and wear masks as much as possible, he had also said.
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