NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind
Kejriwal on Saturday raised red flags over the deteriorating Covid situation in the national capital and said his government is willing to take whatever steps necessary to save lives.
Briefing about the Covid situation in the national capital, Kejriwal said Delhi has reported a record 24,000 cases in the last 24 hours.
The
AAP chief expressed concern over the healthcare system getting overwhelmed due to a sharp spike in hospitalisations and added that Delhi is running out of beds and oxygen.
The Covid situation in Delhi has become "very serious and worrisome". Oxygen, remdesivir and tocilizumab for patients are in short supply, he said.
"Delhi has a limited number of ICU beds ... we are taking several steps to scale up beds' capacity," Kejriwal said.
He said that compared to 4,100 beds in November, the
Centre has provided just 1,800 beds amid the ongoing second wave.
"I hope that we add 6,000 beds in two or three days. No one knows when the peak will come ... I requested Dr Harsh Vardhan to reserve 50% beds for Covid patients," he said.
Without explicitly mentioning a lockdown, Kejriwal said that his government will take the necessary steps if the situation deteriorates.
"We will keep a close eye on the situation for some days. If the situation deteriorates, we will take whatever step is needed to save your lives," he said.
The Delhi chief minister had earlier ruled out lockdown in the national capital.
However, the Delhi government has imposed night curfew from 10pm-5am as well as weekend lockdown.
Delhi has been witnessing a steep surge in
coronavirus infections in the second wave of the pandemic.
On Friday, Delhi had added a record 19,486 cases to its tally along with 141 fatalities.