Delhi High Court on Monday said that the city’s healthcare infrastructure, battered by an aggressive COVID wave, was on the verge of collapse. The order came on the day a 6-day lockdown was imposed on the city and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal painted a grim picture of the COVID situation in the state.

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“It is evident that the healthcare infrastructure is at the stage of imminent collapse”, the court said, reports ANI. The HC also directed Inox, an oxygen firm, to honour its contract with Delhi Government and hospitals in the national capital and continue to supply oxygen and restore 140 metric ton supply immediately. The Kejriwal government had moved the court alleging breach of contract by Inox.

Delhi on Sunday logged the biggest jump in its daily COVID cases, recording 25,462 cases and a positivity rate of nearly 30%. A day before, 24,375 cases and 167 deaths were reported in the city.

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On the issue of migrant labourers, the Court directed the Delhi government to provide food to daily wagers at their worksite and to utilise the service of mid-day meal contractors.

Earlier, announcing the lockdown, Kejriwal had said, “Delhi’s health system is at a tipping point. The COVID-19 situation is pretty critical… If we don’t impose a lockdown now, we will be looking at a bigger disaster. From tonight there will be a lockdown until next Monday.”

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Meanwhile, an expert has warned that the second wave of coronavirus in Delhi is likely to peak within a week after possibly hitting a positivity rate of 50%. Dr Jugal Kishore, the head of community medicine at Safdarjung Hospital, said, “The virus spreads from person to person in close proximity. Over the last few months, people have been meeting each other at a greater pace without following COVID-appropriate behaviour. The results are before us,” reports PTI.

Citing the findings of a serosurvey conducted in February, he said around 50% of Delhi’s population has already been exposed to coronavirus, and there are “very few” cases of re-infection.