‘Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc’: Kejriwal announced extension of Delhi lockdown for another week

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced extension of the ongoing lockdown in the national capital for another week, saying the severity of COVID 19 was unabated and positivity rate has been as high as 36 percent in last few days.

The lockdown imposed on April 19 night will now continue till 5 AM on May 3, he said.

"We will have to watch the situation for a few more days, whether the cases decrease or increase," he said.

"Coronavirus still continues to wreak havoc in the city. Public opinion is that lockdown should increase. So the lockdown is being extended for one week," he said.

On Thursday, the city had recorded a positivity rate of 36.24 per cent -- the highest since the pandemic reached. While it dropped to 32.27 per cent on Saturday evening, the number of fatalities reached a record high of 357.

Although the number of cases dropped from last week's 28,000-plus a day to over 24,000, the a high caseload has kept the city's hospitals at a breaking point, with a galloping crisis of beds, drugs and oxygen.

"While we have failed to deliver oxygen at some places, in other places we have succeeded... the situation should be under control in the coming few days," the Chief Minister said.

Currently, though the Centre has increased Delhi's oxygen quota again from 480 to 490 metric tons, the access problems remain. "The requirement is 700 metric tons and what's reaching us is 330 to 335 metric tonnes only," he said.

The Delhi government has started a portal for oxygen management which will record the status of supplies from the manufactures to the hospitals every two hours, he said.

Hospitals will have to give their consumption data in the last two hours and the supplier has to tell how much was supplied in that period, Kejriwal explained.

"With this, the government will know where there is going to be a shortage and it can be corrected," he said. "This will let the government know where there is a shortfall and can be fixed accordingly," he added.

Apart from the Central government, Delhi is trying to get help from every quarter, Kejriwal said.

"I have written a letter to all the Chief Ministers of the country yesterday. If you have any possibility of oxygen, then let us know. Negotiations have started with some states and I will tell you when any positive results will come," he added.

For all the latest India News, Follow India Section.