Arvind Kejriwal asks for more Covid beds in hospitals run by MCDs

Kejriwal also asserted that the Delhi government was ready to initiate a door-to-door vaccination drive if permitted by the central government .

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal chaired a meeting with the commissioners of the three municipal corporations and urged them to increase Covid-19 beds in hospitals run by the civic agencies as record numbers of infections threaten to overwhelm the healthcare infrastructure in the Capital, government said in a statement issued on Sunday.

The Covid-19 containment meeting with MCD officials was held through video conference and was also attended by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and health minister Satyendar Jain.

“I request all three MCDs to provide more beds, we are ready to provide things which will be needed. The Delhi government is preparing beds on a large scale in Yamuna Sports Complex and Commonwealth Games Village. I request all (the) three MCDs to give maximum medical infrastructure and manpower so that we can use them properly,” Kejriwal said in the statement.

Kejriwal also asserted that the Delhi government was ready to initiate a door-to-door vaccination drive if permitted by the central government and sought municipal corporations’ support for such proposals. He also underlined that the current crisis could only be solved if all worked together.

“Central government, Delhi government and MCDs will work together. Only then we will be able to handle the current surge of Covid in Delhi. Even in the first wave, the central government, Delhi government and MCD had successfully worked together in Delhi. We will all work shoulder to shoulder for the people of Delhi and the country. If we get permission from the central government, then we will start door-to-door vaccination on a large scale in Delhi. We need your help,” Kejriwal was quoted as saying in the statement. The three MCDs are run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and have often been at loggerheads with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government led by Kejriwal.

The meeting was held through video conference late Saturday evening and was attended by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and health minister Satyendar Jain, as per the statement.

In a separate press briefing on Sunday, Kejriwal said Delhi recorded around 25,500 new cases in the last 24 hour cycle and a positivity rate of 30% -- up from around 24,000 new cases and a positivity rate of around 24%, reported the previous day. He said less than 100 ICU beds remained available for Covid patients and urged the Centre to increase the number of reserved Covid-19 beds to 7,000 from the current 1,800 in the city and also increase the supply of oxygen to hospitals, citing the rapid surge in cases.