Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the national capital is facing a dire shortage of oxygen supply, ICU beds and the Remdesivir anti-viral medication amid a record surge in COVID-19 infections. The chief minister also said that Delhi has recorded nearly 24,000 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, which would be the city’s highest-ever daily tally, adding that official data would confirm the same soon.
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“Delhi has a limited number of ICU beds. Oxygen and ICU beds are decreasing very sharply. We are taking several steps to scale up beds capacity,” news agency ANI quoted the chief minister as saying in a press conference.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo said they were hoping to add around 6,000 ICU beds in two or three days, while also appealing to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan to reserve 50% beds for COVID-19 patients.
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“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.
Kejriwal further assured of strict action against those who are found hoarding or black marketing medicines.
He also addressed the complaints that some labs are taking two to three days to send COVID test reports to patients. “The reason is that these labs are taking more samples than their capacity. Strict action will be taken against such labs that will not give report within 24 hours,” Kejriwal said.
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Delhi on Friday recorded 19,486 new COVID-19 cases, its highest-ever single-day spike since the onset of the pandemic, along with 141 new deaths.
The recent surge in the virus spead has prompted a number of state governments to impose fresh restrictions, including night and weekend curfews. On Thursday, Kejriwal announced a weekend curfew in the national capital, from 10 pm on Friday to 6 am on Monday.
