BJP, AAP spar over Covid numbers, beds

“Kejriwal had then said there are 2,950 beds available when the number of cases was just 525. When the cases crossed 14,000, the government has 3,150 beds as per an affidavit submitted by it in the Delhi high court on May 20...,” BJP MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, leader of the opposition in the Assembly, said.

The BJP on Monday alleged the Delhi government could add only 200-odd beds for Covid-19 treatment in the last one-and-a-half months, a claim rejected by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The BJP on Monday alleged the Delhi government could add only 200-odd beds for Covid-19 treatment in the last one-and-a-half months, a claim rejected by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). (Himanshu Vyas / Hindustan Times)

Referring to Arvind Kejriwal’s April 7 press conference, BJP MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, leader of the opposition in the Assembly, said, “Kejriwal had then said there are 2,950 beds available when the number of cases was just 525. When the cases crossed 14,000, the government has 3,150 beds as per an affidavit submitted by it in the Delhi high court on May 20. Today, he said there are 4,500 beds available. The government is misleading people. The CM had said they have made arrangements for 30,000 beds in the capital. Where are those beds?”

AAP rejected the allegations. A party spokesperson said, “The BJP’s allegations are totally false and baseless. Their figures are wrong. The Delhi government is prepared with a clear plan to tackle corona. We have one of the best recovery rates in the country. Delhi has approximately 7,000 active cases, as against 14,000 alleged by the BJP. More than 6,700 patients have fully recovered and gone home.”

Referring to the alleged discrepancy in figures in the Delhi government bulletin, Bidhuri said, “The number of patients undergoing treatment at health care and quarantine facilities, including home quarantine, don’t add up. For instance, there are 7,006 active cases as on May 25, but just 6,289 patients in various government facilities and home quarantine. Where are the rest of the positive cases?”

To this, the AAP’s spokesperson responded, “There is no discrepancy...all patients are accounted for. Before sending patients into home isolation, there is a process whereby our ground teams visit patients to ensure they have adequate facilities required for home isolation. This is an on-ground verification process. Only after physical verification, the patients are sent to home isolation, Covid Care Centre, etc.”