Told Centre to give surplus oxygen quota to other states, says Sisodia as Delhi's COVID positivity rate reduces further

NEW DELHI:   The daily requirement of medical oxygen in Delhi was down by almost 17 per cent from 700 MT to 582 MT with Covid cases in need of hospitalisation decreasing in last one week, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said on Thursday. The number of SOS calls from hospitals seeking immediate supply of oxygen also dwindled significantly, he said, adding that the Delhi government urged the Centre to divert the surplus amount to other states.

“As the positivity rate and hospitalised cases have reduced in Delhi, the oxygen requirement has also fallen from 700 MT to 582 MT per day. The Centre should provide the surplus oxygen to other states, which need additional supply. Despite the city was given 700 MT only once, the Delhi government is grateful to the Supreme Court and the Centre,” he said.

On Thursday, Delhi recorded 10,489 new cases, the lowest since April 10’s 7,897 cases, and 308 fatalities while the positivity rate was 14.24 per cent, the lowest in a month. Positivity rate was 17 per cent on Wednesday with 13,287 cases. The highest positivity rate was 36.2 per cent on April 22, “Daily, more than 80,000 tests were being done of which around 27,000 testing positive.

Positivity rate had risen to 32 per cent during that period. But now it has reduced to around 14 per cent, and 10,400 new cases recorded in last 24 hours,” said Sisodia. Conveying his gratitude towards the Supreme Court and the Centre for timely intervention, he said that the city had got sufficient oxygen, which saved many precious lives.

“During the peak period, we were getting regular SOS calls from the hospitals. Now, we receive 1-2 SOS calls daily which are fulfilled without any delay,” Sisodia said. “The Delhi government is a responsible government; hence it is requesting Central government to reduce the daily oxygen allocation of Delhi to 582 MT, “ he added.