Delhi Covid lockdown news live: Vaccination for people above 18 begins

The third and largest phase of the Covid-19 vaccination drive to inoculate people in 18-45 age group began here Monday morning. Around 90 lakh people are eligible for the jabs under this category in Delhi. Five vaccination booths each have been set up at 77 schools for the exercise, an official said. The government set up the vaccination centres at schools to accommodate the large number of beneficiaries, he added. Till now, vaccines were being given to those aged above 45 at around 500 centres in the national capital.

It took 24-year-old Gunjan Kukreja almost three days to find a bed for her father who had tested positive for Covid-19. However, her struggle was far from over. While her father is admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital now, she claims that she has not been getting any update on his health. It is adding to my stress and anxiety, she says. Her mother had recently lost the battle to Covid-19 and she has a younger brother to take care of. Many people who have been lucky to get their family members admitted are now having a difficult time due to lack of communication. They claim to be not getting regular updates from hospitals, and have no other way of finding out their relatives’ health status either.

Sunday recorded 407 Covid-19 fatalities, the second day in a row that the figure breached the 400-mark. Saturday had seen 412 people succumbing to the disease, the highest single-day toll till date in Delhi. Sunday, however, saw the positivity rate dip below 30% for the first time in two weeks. Delhi recorded 20,394 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, from 71,997 tests carried out in last 24 hours, out of which 54,487 were RT-PCR tests and 17,510 were rapid antigen tests, with a positivity rate of 28.33%. The last time the figure was lower than this and below 30% was on April 19, when 23,686 fresh Covid-19 cases were reported from 90,696 tests, with a positivity rate of 26.12%. It was also the day when a lockdown was imposed in Delhi, which is still in place with the exponential rise in Covid-19 cases. The next day (April 20), Delhi recorded 28,395 Covid-19 cases with a positivity rate of 32.82% and the positivity rate remained above 30% after that, till Sunday.

Delhi High Court on Sunday directed Delhi government to ensure that medicines, oxygen cylinders and medical equipment meant for the treatment of Covid-19 patients are not sold above the maximum retail price. The court also warned if anyone found either involved in selling the same above MRP or malpractices like hoarding will face contempt action. In a special hearing on Sunday, Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli, ordered, “We direct the state to ensure that none of the equipment, or medicines used in the treatment of Covid-19 disease are sold at prices above the MRP. Any person found indulging in malpractice of either hoarding the equipment or medicines, or selling the same at prices above the MRP, shall be booked and brought to the notice of this court for initiating independent contempt action against all such people,” ordered the court.

Delay in procuring flow meters for supplying oxygen to beds has deferred the plan to make a 100-bedded Covid facility operational at Balak Ram Hospital. North Delhi Municipal Corporation had managed to buy only 30 flow meters till Sunday as against the requirement for 100. “While all other arrangements are in place at the hospital, including oxygen cylinders, our staff is facing problems in procuring flow meters. We need one flow meter to supply oxygen to each of 100 beds through cylinders. The demand was placed with the supplier listed by the Delhi government recently, but it seems there is shortage of the equipment in the market,” said mayor Jai Prakash.

The Centre on Sunday moved an application before the Delhi high court bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli, seeking recall of its Saturday order in which it had directed it to provide Delhi its allocated quota of 490 metric tonnes (MT) of medical oxygen, adding that it would consider initiating contempt proceedings in case of non-compliance. The bench has directed the Delhi government to file a reply on the Centre’s plea by Tuesday and will take up the matter on Wednesday. The court also clarified that it hadn’t initiated any contempt action. “We have not initiated contempt. That’s the last thing we have on our mind. We know everyone is working hard,” the bench remarked, observing that the government officials were carrying out their duties despite being infected.

There was no respite from the erratic oxygen supply for the capital’s hospitals on Sunday with several of them sending out SOS messages and virtually begging on social media, saying their stocks would last only for a few minutes or hours. The Delhi government continued to do crisis management by rushing emergency supplies but the panic kept on mounting in the city. Around 2:45 pm, Hamdard Institute of Medical Science and Research (HAHC) at Hamdard Nagar began asking its patients to make alternative arrangements as its oxygen supply would get exhausted by 5 pm.

The Delhi government has put in place measures to tackle the oxygen crisis that the capital is facing. A team has been formed to monitor the Covid-19 situation and plans are in place on how the government is going to deal with the oxygen shortage being faced in the city, it said in a statement. The government said that to meet the challenges thrown by the emergency situation and to ensure steady supply of oxygen to all hospitals and other healthcare facilities, a dedicated team of seven IAS officials has been planned. Delhi is going to receive five additional oxygen tankers from Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, the government said in the statement. On Sunday, the city received 120 metric tonnes of liquid oxygen through the second ‘Oxygen Express’ that arrived from Eastern Railway.