PremiumNew Dehi: With covid-19 cases surging in the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced extension of the lockdown after public opinion favoured the move. The lockdown which was scheduled to end Monday 5 am is now extended by one week, until 3 May, Monday 5 am, Kejriwal said.
Hospitals across Delhi even on Sunday continued to send SOS signals over the shortage of oxygen to the central and state governments through social media. Pentamed hospital and Jaipur Golden hospital — where at least 20 patients died due to the shortage of oxygen on Saturday — ran short of oxygen supply even on Sunday. Even the country’s premier medical institute All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) raised alarm over exhausting oxygen stocks.
Premium 
Premium 
Premium With the situation getting worse every hour, the Delhi government on Sunday also began a portal for oxygen management to record the status of oxygen supply from manufacturers to hospitals every two hours; 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.
“Though the Centre has increased Delhi’s oxygen quota again from 480 to 490 metric tonnes, problems in access remain, and while Delhi’s requirement is 700 metric tonnes, what’s reaching us is only 330-335 metric tonnes," Kejriwal said. “As a result, we are receiving only half of what we require, which is a huge impediment in the recovery of covid-19 positive patients," he said.
The chief minister said owing to the rise in covid-19 cases, last week we had announced a 6-day lockdown in the capital. Lockdown is the last resort and last measure imposed in any fight against covid-19, and Delhi’s situation was such that imposing a lockdown had become necessary, he said.
However, the cases continue to climb at an alarming rate, and that is why the lockdown is being extended, he added.
Kejriwal said during this lockdown the positivity rate surged to 36-37%.
Delhi has recorded over 24,000 cases in last 24 hours.
The chief minister said he has written letters to all chief ministers in the country and asked for aid. “If companies in their states have surplus oxygen, we have requested them to divert it to Delhi. The negotiation is on with some of the states," said Kejriwal.
As several hospitals in the NCR region faced the shortage of medical oxygen, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath claimed that there is no shortage of oxygen in any private or public covid-19 hospital. He also said the state government will conduct an oxygen audit in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, IIM Lucknow and IIT BHU for proper monitoring of oxygen. Several other states like Gujarat, Punjab, West Bengal also faced the shortage of oxygen.
In the country, at least 3,49,691 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours. Ten states — Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan — reported 74.53% of the new cases.
Maharashtra reported the highest daily new cases at 67,160, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 37,944 and Karnataka with 29,438 new cases.
India’s total active caseload has reached 26,82,751. It now comprises 15.82% of the country's total positive cases. A net incline of 1,29,811 cases recorded from the total active caseload in the last 24 hours, the Union health ministry data showed.
Eight states — Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Kerala — cumulatively account for 69.94% of India’s total active cases.
Following the footsteps of Maharashtra and Delhi, neighbouring Uttar Pradesh has already imposed Sunday lockdown, Kerala too implemented weekend lockdown from 24 April to further tighten curbs on civic life as Covid-19 cases spiral day-by-day. The Karnataka government also announced a sudden lockdown on Thursday in the wake of rising covid-19 cases.
Click here to read the Mint ePaperMint is now on Telegram. Join Mint channel in your Telegram and stay updated with the latest business news.
